Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-02

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)

Learning a foreign language in every part of the world is increasing rapidly and many individuals around the world thinks that learning a foreign language is only their motive to travel around the world or to do work in a foreign countries, while some individuals says these are not the only reasons why someone should learn a foreign language. This essay will discuss both perspective before explaining why I lean towards the more optimistic one.

Learning a new skill that is useful in everyday life is crucial. People like to travel and learn about different culture and tradition and the one thing that is crucial is knowing a foreign language, which helps them to travel around different parts of the world. People also gets opportunities to work in a foreign country which can improve their carrer and they can build a strong networking around the world, so in this case knowing a foreign language would be a plus point.

On the other hand, people think only knowing a foreign language for work or travel is not sufficient because it bound people's to limited knowledge and they cannot boost their confidence. So, people can also learn foreign languages to improve their communication skills which can provide them other better opportunities they are missing in their life and they can also invest in different businesses around the world and make a good profit, so they can live thier life more comfortable and provide luxurious experiences to their families.

In my opinion, learning a foreign language for work and travel is enough but improving thier communication skills, finding better opportunities and living the most luxurious life doing multiple businesses around the world greatly requires learning different foreign languages. So, people can be bilingual than bounding in their native tongue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views and providing a personal opinion, but the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on why people learn languages beyond travel and work touches on communication and business, but these points are repetitive and lack specific, extended examples. The writer's position is discernible, particularly in the introduction and conclusion, but the overall development lacks the depth and extension required for a higher band. To improve, the writer should ensure that each main idea is fully explored with distinct, well-supported arguments rather than generalized statements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organization with a clear paragraph structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each viewpoint, and a conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the logical flow between sentences feels somewhat disjointed at times. Cohesive devices are used, but they tend to be repetitive or mechanical, such as relying heavily on basic conjunctions like 'so' and 'and' to link clauses. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, making the transitions between thoughts feel abrupt. To achieve a higher band, the writer should aim for a more sophisticated use of a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure smoother logical transitions from one paragraph to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey basic points about travel, work, and communication. There are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form, such as 'carrer' instead of career, 'networking' instead of networks, and 'thier' instead of their, alongside awkward phrases like 'bound people's to limited knowledge' and 'living the most luxurious life'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling errors sometimes cause slight difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer needs to expand their lexical range, incorporate less common vocabulary with greater precision, and pay closer attention to spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'many individuals... thinks' and 'people also gets', as well as errors in articles, prepositions, and plurals, such as 'different culture and tradition'. These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader and distract from the flow of ideas. To reach the next level, the writer must focus on increasing grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding verb forms and subject-verb agreement, while also demonstrating better control over a wider variety of complex sentence structures.

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.