Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-28

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)

There are thousands of languages in the world. Every country, state, area, even tribes have their own languages. In my view, the reasons aren't travel or work in a country why someone learn a language.

English, Mandarin, Hindi are most spoken languages in the world but Mandarin and Hindi are native languages whereas English is an international language. People learn English not only for going in English speaking state but also for offices work, meeting in their own native state like Pakistan and India etc. For online work, study, news English is mandatory.

Other languages such as Spanish, Korean, people learn these languages because of interest in them or for watching famous series in their language. People also learn other foreign languages for handling foreign affairs of the country like some people serves as translator between the ministers of two nations that don't know about each other language.

Some peoples learn foreign languages to set records and show their talent to the world. Also learning a language is very useful if a person stuck in a situation where no one knows his language then what he can do? So it's important for a person to know at least 3 or 4 languages.

However the people that say learning a language is only for travel and work in abroad, they are also right. The people that don't have interest in learning languages or don't need to learn languages, they learn a foreign language only for travelling to the other countries.

In short, the only reasons to learn a language are not travel or work abroad but also depends on other factors like interest, need or profession.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding 'foreign affairs' and 'setting records' is mentioned but not fully explored or supported with concrete examples. The essay covers the requirements, but the discussion lacks depth and analytical rigor, which is expected for a higher band. The position is consistent, but the arguments could be more effectively linked to the prompt's core themes of travel and work versus personal enrichment.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive. Transitions between ideas, such as 'Also' and 'In short', are basic. Some sentences feel disconnected, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition from English as an international language to online work is abrupt. The logical progression is present but lacks the sophisticated flow required for higher bands. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making some sentences feel disjointed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. The student relies on common words like 'learn', 'work', and 'important'. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'going in English speaking state' instead of 'traveling to English-speaking countries' and 'offices work' instead of 'professional settings'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range is limited, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions that would demonstrate a higher level of proficiency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('some people serves'), article usage ('in a country'), and awkward phrasing ('the people that say... they are also right'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader and indicate a lack of control over more complex grammatical forms.

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