Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-25

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)

It is widely known that speaking a foreign language in some country where people are living is a serious social problems which also create several disadvantages in your practical life too. In my opinion, I more likely to agree with the statement, but it depends.

More reasonably, speaking a foreign language is a disrespect to that country's native language where the people are living. In many countries, the native speakers ignore the person who do not try enough to improve and contribute towards their language. Furthermore, it also creates misunderstanding, cultural difference, and makes communication hard. For example, if a pupil goes to study abroad, so he needs to spend atleast 2 years there, and for the survival he needs to learn their native language. Therefore, he can contribute to their social circle, culture, and traditional events; moreover, if he wants to be socially and practically active then he can start by making new friends, by contributing towards their society, neighbourhood, and class-fellows, and to extent his career, and for that it obviously compulsory for him to learn their language. Otherwise, they will not accept him or make him a part of their society, life, and friendship.

On the other hand, people do not need to force foreigners to speak their language. There are some senarios in which it is not necessary for outsiders to speak the native language of the country where they are living in. For example, if a country starts a project in some foreign country on their request, and if the national people of this country force the foreigners to speak their language or otherwise, there would be problems then its not a good approach and not acceptable too.

In conclusion, speaking the national language of the country would increases the positive outcome. For the record, in some conditions, it is not necessary for outsiders to speak their country's language.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both the social and practical consequences of living where another language is spoken, and your view is broadly that learning the local language is beneficial. The example of a student studying abroad helps illustrate how language can support social participation. However, your position is qualified by “but it depends” without clearly explaining the conditions, and the counterargument about a foreign project is not fully connected to the question of residents’ social and practical problems. Several claims, such as locals refusing to accept someone who does not speak their language, are stated generally rather than supported. Make your degree of agreement explicit and develop one or two relevant examples to show how language barriers cause specific problems.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting different perspectives, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within the first body paragraph is difficult to follow: the student example moves through survival, social participation, career development, and acceptance in one long sequence. Some connections are unclear, including how the foreign-project example supports the counterargument. The conclusion repeats the main point but does not resolve the qualification in “it depends.” Organise each paragraph around one clear claim, then explain and illustrate it, using references and transitions that make the relationship between ideas explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “misunderstanding,” “social circle,” “neighbourhood,” and “contribute,” and you attempt some less common expressions. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended meaning harder to follow. For example, “a disrespect to that country's native language” does not clearly express the intended idea, while “extent his career” appears to mean advance or develop a career. There are also spelling errors such as “atleast” and “senarios.” The range is sufficient to discuss the topic, but repeated general terms such as “language,” “people,” and “problems” limit precision. Focus on accurate collocations and check spelling when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional forms such as “if a pupil goes to study abroad” and “if he wants to be socially and practically active.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some passages difficult to process. For example, “speaking a foreign language … is a serious social problems” has a subject–verb and singular–plural mismatch, while “the person who do not try” has incorrect agreement. In “speaking the national language … would increases,” the verb form after “would” is incorrect. Long sentences also contain several clauses joined without clear grammatical control. Practise agreement, verb forms after modal verbs, and breaking complex ideas into shorter, complete sentences.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.