Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-21

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that the only reason for learning a foreign language is in order to travel to or work in a foreign country. Others say that these are not the only reasons why someone should learn a foreign language.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Learning a foreign language is more common now a days, some individuals are supporting that learning different national speaking script is essential to survive there in terms of immigration and tourism, others argue that learning other language is not necessary. This essay will discuss both views before giving my opinion it explain why a balanced approach will be the most effective.

On the one hand, people are often migrating another nations to get a better work life balance and quality of life. For instance, a western counties are more attractive due to lack of opportunities, high competitional job market in their home country, high technological studies and better pay are playing major role for those who are willing to move another country and also they are contributing to the nation by foreign funding. But, there is a language barrier that is mandatory in some nations such as United States of America, New Zealand, Australia, United kingdom and some of European nations.

On the other hand, others are arguing foreign language is the not only the main reason there is something behind it. In their view residence should retain in the home country and support to make a equal opportunities it helps nation to grow by economy and contribution to the will improve market and creates more jobs and also government should take place to support new startup ideas to retain the young talent in the nation. For example, earlier supported platforms like OYO, Uber Eats and Ola.

In conclusion, people who are interested in migrating somewhere its completely their individual choice and learning new foreign language could help to survive immigrant life. Retaining the young talent could help national economy to make opportunities. In my own opinion, a balanced approach is most effective.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. The first body paragraph discusses migration but lacks a clear link to the necessity of language learning beyond just mentioning it as a 'barrier'. The second body paragraph is largely off-topic; it discusses economic retention and startups (e.g., OYO, Uber) rather than addressing the prompt's core question regarding the reasons for learning a foreign language (such as cognitive benefits, cultural appreciation, or academic research). Consequently, the ideas are not fully extended or supported in relation to the specific task instructions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed. While cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are used, the internal logic within paragraphs is weak. For example, the transition from discussing migration to the list of countries is abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is unclear, such as the phrase 'there is something behind it' in the second body paragraph, which fails to clearly articulate the alternative viewpoint. The conclusion is brief and does not effectively synthesise the arguments presented.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and incorrect word choices, such as 'national speaking script' instead of 'foreign language' and 'high competitional job market' instead of 'highly competitive job market'. The use of 'residence' instead of 'residents' is also a notable error. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, the overall range is limited, and the errors occasionally make the intended meaning slightly difficult to grasp.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('a western counties', 'the nation'), incorrect verb forms ('people are often migrating another nations'), and punctuation issues. Some sentences are run-on or lack proper subject-verb agreement, such as 'others are arguing foreign language is the not only the main reason'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to demonstrate a lack of control over complex structures, which is characteristic of a Band 5.5 or 6.0 performance.

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

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