Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-30

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 foreign country where you have to speak language that is not your mother tounge can cause serious problems. There are social problems as well as practical problems. I agree that living in a new environment can cause serious difficulties. In this essay, i will explain to what extend i believe with this statement and the reason for my answers.

First of all, living and adjusting to a new country is not easy. They can cause serious social problems. When they went to a new place, they are likely to be shy and overthink everything they do. For example. a new student in a university from another country has no friends because they are unable to speak the local language fluently as the local students. As a result, this can lead to insecurites to live in a new country. Furthermore, the locals student might be bullying and discriminate the new student becaus the lack of language skills.

There are also some practical challanges. Such as Living cost in another, buying groceries, and using public transportation. For example, you have to rent a room to live which is going to be a financial burden. Buying groceries and food are harder too. because you have to communicate in local language. Using public transportation is not as easy as your home country, there are some disavantsges. The different time, language, and daily lives are not the same.

In conclusion, living in a foreign country comes with problems that is hard to adjust and live. I agree completely on this statement. It is hard and it's never going to be s comfortable as your home country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you agree that living where a foreign language is spoken can create both social and practical difficulties. You address both parts of the statement, using examples about a student struggling to make friends and the challenges of renting, shopping, and using transport. However, the ideas remain general and are not consistently explained. For instance, the claim that local students may bully or discriminate against newcomers is introduced without showing how language barriers lead to this outcome. The practical paragraph lists difficulties but gives little detail about their effects. To strengthen the response, explain each example more fully and connect it directly to the seriousness of the problem. The conclusion repeats your view but adds little to the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for social and practical problems, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the main topics, and transitions such as “First of all,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” signal stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear or mechanical. The shift from the student’s shyness to bullying, for example, needs a clearer explanation, while the practical paragraph moves quickly from living costs to groceries and transport. Some references are also confusing, as in “They can cause serious social problems” and “When they went to a new place,” where the subject is not clear. Use more precise links between cause, example, and consequence, and make each paragraph develop one connected line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “social problems,” “financial burden,” “local language,” and “public transportation.” There are also attempts to express specific difficulties, such as “discriminate” and “adjusting.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, spelling, or collocation errors make the writing less natural: “insecurites,” “challanges,” and “disavantsges” are misspelled, while “the locals student” and “the different time” are awkward expressions. Repetition of “problems,” “hard,” and “new country” also limits precision. Build a wider set of accurate phrases for social isolation, communication barriers, and everyday services, and check spelling and collocations carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause in “because they are unable to speak the local language fluently” and a result link with “As a result.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. Examples include “living in a foreign country where you have to speak language,” which is missing an article, and “the locals student might be bullying,” which has problems with number and verb form. Tense and pronoun use are also inconsistent in “When they went to a new place, they are likely to be shy.” Sentence boundaries and capitalization need attention, as in “For example. a new student” and “because you have to communicate.” Practise accurate complex sentences and proofread agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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.