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)

Living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems and practical problems. I strongly agree with this statement that language barrier can make difficulties in daily life and communicate with the other in foreign countries.If a person can unnderstood the local language may be easier to earn money and studies in foreign country.

Initially, one of main problem is communication. People who cannot understand the local language may be find it difficulties to communicate with the other, make friends and teachers. They may feel lonely and isolated. If a person who want to come in foreign country so he learn to their local language where he want to go. For instance, a student who come in foreign country for the studies, if he cannot understant their language so he cannot learn and earn money. He may be face problems in foreign country.

Secondly, language barrier can make practiacl problems. People can find it challanges to visit the doctor, transportation and buying essential items at store. Misunderstanding information can make serious issue. They can be difficult to live in foreign country. For instance: a person who cannot explain to the doctor about symptons, he cannot receive perfect medicine by the doctor.

I strongly agree with this statement that can create serious problems. People cannot understand the local language, it may affect their confidence and activities. People should learn language courses and speaking practice. Communities and government should support the new commeries and provide language courses them.

In the conclusion, foreign language can make serious issues for them who live in foreign country. Nevertheless, it is not possible to overcome problem. It will be overcome when people practice speaking language and learn about language course so people can enjoy their life in other country.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you strongly agree that living with a language barrier can create both social and practical difficulties. You address both sides of the prompt, explaining isolation and difficulty making friends, as well as problems accessing healthcare, transport and essential goods. The examples of a student and a patient help make these points relevant. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained: for example, the student’s difficulty learning and earning money is mentioned, but the link between language ability and these outcomes could be developed more clearly. Your suggestions about language courses and community support are relevant, though brief. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of each example in more detail and connect them explicitly to your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs covering social and practical problems, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “Initially” and “Secondly” help signal the main points, and the examples generally follow the ideas they support. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, particularly where several claims are joined together without showing how they relate. For instance, the student example shifts from studying to earning money and then to general problems. Some linking phrases are repetitive or awkward, and references such as “they” and “it” do not always make the intended meaning clear. Use clearer topic sentences, develop one main point at a time, and link each example directly to the claim it illustrates.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “language barrier,” “isolated,” “transportation,” “essential items,” and “symptoms.” These choices show awareness of the subject and help distinguish social from practical problems. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, spelling, and collocation errors make parts of the response less clear, such as “make difficulties,” “perfect medicine,” and “serious issue.” There are also repeated uses of “problems” and “foreign country,” which reduce precision. Build a wider set of accurate phrases for communication, access to services, and social integration, and check spelling and word forms carefully. More natural collocations would make your ideas easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer conditional or relative structures, for example, “People who cannot understand the local language…” and “If a person who want to come…”. This shows an effort to vary sentence forms, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, many longer sentences are not controlled accurately, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction sometimes make the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Examples include “may be find it difficulties,” “a student who come,” and “They can be difficult to live in foreign country.” Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention, especially where clauses are joined with commas. Practise forming accurate subject–verb patterns and conditional sentences before adding more complexity.

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.