Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There is a trend of people moving to foreign country for study and work. Due to this, they have to face so many social and practical problems. I totally agree with the given statement because I can relate being an International student here in Australia. This will lead to loneliness, isolation, homesickness and mental health problems.

One of the major social problem is people who are struggling to speak the language they live in, it is very hard for them even to communicate. Eventually, they will lose confidence and motivation. Newcomers may face problems like isolation and homesickness because it is very hard for them to communicate and have fear of making mistakes. Sometimes people are often judged because of they accent and the way they talk. For example, when I first came to Australia,I fell like how would I survive because my english is not good enough.

Also, there are various practical problems as well. People will find it hard to get job opportunities like meetings, seminars and interviews. For instance, it is very difficult for person to go to health center and explain about it for those who has limited english.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position of total agreement with the statement regarding social and practical problems caused by speaking a foreign language. However, the task achievement is limited by two main factors. First, the response falls significantly short of the minimum length requirement, containing only 193 words compared to the required 250 words, which restricts the depth of the overall discussion. Second, while the ideas of loneliness, isolation, and practical hurdles like jobs and healthcare are introduced, they remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the example provided about personal experience in Australia is very brief and lacks elaboration. To reach a higher band, the writer must ensure the essay meets the word count threshold and expands each main point with fully developed explanations and more robust supporting examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, body paragraphs, and distinct points. The writer uses basic cohesive devices and signals such as 'One of the major social problem', 'Eventually', and 'Also, there are various practical problems as well' to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in minor awkward transitions between sentences. Paragraphing is attempted, but the body of the text is somewhat clumped rather than separated into distinct thematic paragraphs for social versus practical issues. To progress to a higher band, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices, ensure seamless transitions between ideas, and use clearer paragraph breaks to establish a distinct and logical progression throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing enough range to communicate basic ideas such as 'isolation', 'homesickness', and 'job opportunities'. However, the range is limited, and there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation that occasionally cause difficulty or distract the reader. Examples include phrasing errors like 'foreign country' instead of 'a foreign country', 'social problem' instead of 'social problems', and 'because of they accent' instead of 'their accent'. Additionally, the phrase 'fell like how would I survive' contains inaccurate word forms and choices. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to expand their lexical repertoire by incorporating less common vocabulary, improving word-formation accuracy, and paying closer attention to collocations and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors in sentence structure, verb forms, and articles that can cause some difficulty for the reader. For example, sentences such as 'people who are struggling to speak the language they live in, it is very hard for them even to communicate' exhibit grammatical confusion and run-on tendencies. Other errors include missing articles, such as 'for person', and incorrect prepositional patterns or verb tense shifts, like 'because my english is not good enough' within a past context. To move to a higher band, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures with good control, aiming for more error-free sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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