Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-30

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)

Purpose for practising a foreign language may differ from person to person — based on their interest or need. Some believe that, the main reason behind it is to travel or work while others say — its not the only reason to learn a language. I firmly believe that, there are many reasons for people other than travel or work to learn a foreign dialect. Some people learn a language based on inspiration and love towards it while few learn to understand the foreign culture. Regardless the major reason proves to be trave or work or survival in a foreign country.

People might get interested on a language based on its vocal sound — aesthetic —ascent — history etc. which serves as a key factor for them to adore the language. Learning a dialect can help people to understand foreign culture and their way of living — helps them from feeling as an outsider. Language helps people to co-exist with foreign people which makes living and adapting much convenient. For instance lot of people learn "Tamil" because of its deep connection with linguistic history — culture of people — rich grammar and literature which can inspire people to practise the language out of interest and love towards it.

For majority of people, the purpose for learning a foreign language is either for travel or employment in a specific country — these reasons are mostly out of requirement rather than interest of a person to learn it. Sometimes it might provide them a added advantage in acquiring a visa or college admission or employment in the country. It helps with their daily life and communication in a foreign country and serves as a essential tool for survival. For instance having a German language proficiency increase the probability of acquiring both college admission and visa for Germany therefore it acts as a need for students to learn to language to increase their chance.

In conclusion even-though work and travel serves as a major purpose to learn a language — from my view there are also various other reason for an individual to learn a language such as interest, culture etc. which differ from person to person based on their needs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that learning a language is solely for travel/work, and that there are other reasons—while providing a clear personal opinion. The writer presents relevant ideas, such as learning a language for cultural appreciation, aesthetic interest, and as a tool for survival or visa acquisition. However, some arguments lack full extension and are slightly repetitive. For instance, the discussion on culture could be developed with deeper elaboration. Overall, the prompt is well-answered and satisfies the requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0, ultimately fitting comfortably into Band 6.0 due to some under-developed idea expansion in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a logical overall arrangement with a clear introduction, distinct body paragraphs exploring each viewpoint, and a concluding paragraph that reiterates the writer's stance. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'For instance', 'In conclusion', and 'regardless', although referencing and transitions can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or abrupt. For example, sentences within the second paragraph jump between ideas rather quickly without smooth transitional bridges. Punctuation choices, such as frequent dashes rather than standard clausal links, detract slightly from fluent progression, placing this performance at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'aesthetic', 'co-exist', 'linguistic history', and 'proficiency'. However, there are notable instances of word choice inaccuracies, awkward collocations, and spelling errors, such as using 'ascent' instead of 'accent', 'trave' instead of 'travel', and 'lot of people' instead of 'a lot of people'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6.0 profile where vocabulary usage is generally sufficient to convey meaning but lacks the precision, naturalness, and flexibility required to reach Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and punctuation errors are frequent—particularly the overuse of dashes in place of commas or conjunctions, as seen in 'aesthetic —ascent — history etc.' and 'culture of people — rich grammar'. There are also minor subject-verb agreement and article errors, such as 'an added advantage', 'increase the probability' (instead of increases), and 'learn to language' (instead of learn the language). These errors mean that error-free sentences are not in the majority, aligning the grammar score securely with Band 6.0.

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