Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-18

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)

Some people believe that the main purpose of learning a foreign language is to travael to or woek in another country, while others argue that there are many other reasons to learn new language. This essay will discuss both view along with my reasons and opinions. I believe that foreign language are useful for much more than travelling and empolyment.

On the one hand, travelling and working abroad are important reasons for learning a foreign language. When people visit another country to explored tourists attraction, knowing the local language can make communication mush faster and easier. For example, tourists can ask for directions, order food and communicate with local people without depending on google transalator app. Similarly, people who work in a foreign country need to communicate with managers and customers effectively. Therefor, learninng the local language can help them took a new environment and perform their jobs more successfully.

On the other hand, there are several other benefites of learning a foreign language, Firstly, it can people understand different culture and traditional very quickly. Language usually connected with the history and lifestle of a country, so learning it can provide a deeper understanding and information about country easier and convenient for people. Secondly, studying another language can imorve communicatin and learning skills. For instance, students living in Canada, learning French can improve their opportunities to obtain permanent residency.

In my opinion, learning a foreign language is useful for many reasons, not only for travelling and working abroad. It can help people understand different cultures, communitcate with people from other countries and access better education opportunities.

In Conclusion, although travelling and working abroad are major reasons for learning a forign language, I believe that language learnign has wider educational, cultural and personal benefites

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that learning a foreign language is solely for travel and work, and that there are other reasons—while providing a clear personal opinion throughout. In the introduction, the writer states, 'I believe that foreign language are useful for much more than travelling and empolyment.' The body paragraphs explore travel, employment, cultural understanding, and educational opportunities. Ideas are generally extended and supported with relevant examples, such as mentioning tourists asking for directions and students in Canada learning French. However, some arguments lack deep development, which places this response comfortably in the Band 6.5 to 7 range. The position is clear, but the reasoning can occasionally be slightly repetitive, especially in the third paragraph where cultural benefits are touched upon briefly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organised into a clear five-paragraph structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing views, a personal opinion paragraph, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' 'Secondly,' and 'In my opinion.' However, referencing and paragraph internal cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition in the third paragraph ('Firstly, it can people understand different culture and traditional very quickly') contains abrupt phrasing and lacks smooth integration. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but the overall flow suffers from minor disjointed transitions and structural awkwardness, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items like 'permanent residency' and 'educational, cultural and personal benefites.' However, there are several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'travael,' 'woek,' 'empolyment,' 'explored,' 'mush,' 'transalator,' 'Therefor,' 'learninng,' 'took,' 'benefites,' 'traditional,' and 'imorve.' Despite these lexical inaccuracies and typographical slips, the meaning is generally communicated without significant ambiguity. The lexical range is sufficient to address the topic, but the frequency of spelling mistakes and occasional awkward word forms prevents the score from reaching Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and conditional-like structures, as seen in 'people who work in a foreign country need to communicate with managers and customers effectively.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and missing words, such as 'it can people understand' instead of 'it can help people understand,' and 'so learning it can provide a deeper understanding and information about country easier.' Punctuation and verb agreement are also occasionally shaky, for example, 'Language usually connected' missing the auxiliary verb 'is.' While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency means that error-free sentences are not in the majority, which is characteristic of Band 6 performance.

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