Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-23
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 is ongoing debate over whether the purpose of learning an international language is travel or job in foreign country or whether there are other certain reasons to study foreign language. This essay will examine both perspectives before presenting my own view.
On one hand, many people study another language for job purposes to get a highly paid job. For example , countries in Asia have low currency so experts who get some hands on experience in their own country try to go abroad to get similar job which is highly paid. In 2025, it is reported that approximately 300,000 IT developers have left their country and move somewhere at high rate which leads to better living style, while individuals who love to explore world they prefer to study the multi language which results in better understanding of different culture.
On the other hand, majority also believe that travel or employment are not only the reasons to understand foreign language instead there are students who want to study abroad so they learn the language of their respective targeted country.Most of the countries now accept IELTS including Europe. IELTS is an English language test which must achieve a certain band by the students who want to gain admission in foreign universities for undergrad or higher studies. Furthermore, media experts or politicians also learn multi languages to lead globally.
In my opinion, while the majority of students study international languages, addressing the underlying interest for higher studies consequently get better job opportunities which further leads to better lifestyle more sustainable long-term.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that learning a language is solely for travel and work, and that other reasons exist, such as for higher education and global leadership—and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. Ideas are relevant, although some points, particularly the explanation of IT developers moving abroad and the final conclusion, are slightly under-developed and lack clear articulation. For instance, the transition from discussing study abroad and media experts in the third paragraph to the conclusion is somewhat convoluted. Nevertheless, the main thrust of the prompt is tackled sufficiently, earning a band score of 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear four-paragraph structure. Paragraphs have distinct central topics, moving from introduction to the two opposing views and finally the writer's opinion. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The use of transition markers such as 'On one hand' and 'On the other hand' is attempted, but referencing and linking within sentences can be confusing, such as the run-on and slightly disjointed sentence structure in the second paragraph involving IT developers. Paragraphing is adequate, but logical progression is occasionally hindered by imprecise transitional phrases and repetitive sentence beginnings.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'ongoing debate', 'multilanguages', and 'sustainable long-term'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'job in foreign country' instead of 'jobs in foreign countries', 'low currency' instead of 'weak currency', and 'move somewhere at high rate'. Spelling and word formation errors also appear, such as 'multi language' instead of 'multiple languages'. While communication is not severely impeded, these lexical inaccuracies prevent the writing from achieving a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures frequently contain errors. Examples of grammatical inaccuracies include missing articles ('purpose of learning an international language is travel or job'), awkward preposition usage ('study another language for job purposes'), and tense/agreement issues ('experts who get some hands on experience... try to go abroad to get similar job which is highly paid'). Punctuation errors are also present, such as the space before the comma in 'For example ,'. While simpler sentences are generally controlled, the frequency of errors in complex attempts places this criterion firmly at a band 5.5.
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.