Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-17
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 4.5)
while some individuals argue that the primary motivation is to facilitate employment.learning a language offers broader personal and cognitive benefits for personal growth.traveling allows individuals to immerse deeply in local experience diverse cultures firsthand furthermore it enhances cognitive skills such such as memory and problem-solving abilities.
on a practical level,being multingual opens up numerous career opportunities.for instance,professionals fluent in a second language often find jobs in international companies.
futhermore, gaining proficiency in another language broadens ones worldview and fosters cross-cultural comunication
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The student touches upon both views regarding the purpose of learning a foreign language, mentioning career opportunities and cognitive or personal benefits. However, the response is severely underdeveloped and falls drastically short of the required 250-word minimum, containing only 81 words. Due to this extreme under-length, the ideas cannot be fully developed or extended as required by the task prompt. Furthermore, a clear personal opinion is not adequately stated or sustained throughout the response. In accordance with the IELTS assessment criteria for length violations, this severely impacts the Task Achievement score, placing it firmly at the lower end of the scale.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The student attempts to structure the response into short paragraphs, but the overall organisation is heavily disjointed due to the fragmented nature of the text. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, with noticeable punctuation errors (such as missing spaces after periods, e.g., 'employment.learning' and 'level,being') that disrupt the natural flow of ideas. Paragraphing is insufficient, and the progression of thoughts is abrupt, making it difficult for the reader to follow a logical train of argument. While some basic logical links are attempted, the absence of proper cohesive control and inadequate paragraph structure prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a basic vocabulary range relevant to the topic, using terms such as 'employment', 'multilingual', 'career opportunities', and 'worldview'. However, there are notable spelling errors, such as 'multingual' and 'comunication', alongside minor word-form slips like 'experience diverse cultures' instead of 'experiencing diverse cultures'. The lexical range remains quite limited and repetitive, preventing the writer from demonstrating precise control over less common vocabulary or collocation. Although communication is not entirely impeded, the vocabulary is restricted in scope and contains noticeable lexical inaccuracies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The student attempts some complex structures, such as participial phrases ('traveling allows individuals to immerse deeply...') and subordinate clauses starting with 'while'. However, the grammatical control is weak. There are frequent punctuation and capitalization errors, including missing capital letters at the beginning of sentences ('while some individuals...', 'on a practical level...'), missing spaces after punctuation marks, and structural fragments. Grammatical accuracy is inconsistent, and errors in punctuation and sentence boundaries are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader, restricting the score to this band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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