Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-01
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)
Nowadays, some people believe that travel and work are the main motivations for learning a foreign language, while others think that everyone should learn a foreign langiage for other purposes as well.
To begin with, it is true that having language knowledge and able to speak it fluently will help you a lot while travelling. this will help you to build a good relationship with local people, find any address easily and be more confident. Also, language knowledge helps people to find a good job position. Since the employer's prefrerence for people with similar experties is the person who has better language skills.
Moreover, there are several other reasons for learning a new language. One of the most common one is studying abroad. A language certificate is usually one of the necessary qualifications for applying to high-ranking universities. Also, most traders learn a new language for business purposes, because without it, they do not understang customer behaviour. Bad communication also can cause financial losses in many businesses. As a result, many people could lose their jobs and companies could face bankruptcy.
In my opinion, learning a new language not just help you while you travel to a new country, it also opens many opportunities for you as well. For instance, you can make new friends in a new country. And, you will be able to understand them, learn about their cultures and you would not feel nervous to communicate with them.
In conclusion, though some believe that learning a new language only helps a person while they are travellin, it actually has many other benefits as well.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views on learning a foreign language and provides a personal opinion, but the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. While the introduction acknowledges travel and work as well as other purposes, the body paragraphs tend to list points rather than fully exploring them. For instance, the mention of studying abroad and business traders in the third paragraph is relevant, but the ideas are not extended with detailed elaboration. Your position is generally clear throughout the text, yet the supporting details rely on generalisations rather than fully articulated arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to group ideas into logical paragraphs, such as separating travel and work from other purposes like studying and business. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Transitions like 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'As a result' are used, but referencing and linking across sentences occasionally lack smooth progression, such as starting a sentence with a lowercase 'this' or relying on repetitive phrase structures. Paragraphing is utilised adequately to separate distinct themes, but the internal logical flow requires tighter cohesive ties to guide the reader effortlessly.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form. For example, 'langiage' and 'travellin' are spelling errors, while 'experties' contains a typo. There are also inappropriate word forms or choices, such as 'having language knowledge and able to speak it' and 'prefrerence for people with similar experties'. While you attempt some less common vocabulary such as 'bankruptcy' and 'qualifications', these inaccuracies and spelling slips cause occasional difficulty for the reader and prevent the lexical score from rising further.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The essay demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple or somewhat repetitive complex sentence forms. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement and article issues ('the employer's prefrerence', 'learning a new language not just help you'), run-on constructions, and punctuation mistakes, including lowercase sentence beginnings ('this will help you'). Attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, and the frequency of errors across tenses, prepositions, and clause structures causes some difficulty for the reader.
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.