Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-01
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)
Many people believe that people learn foreign language just because of work and traveling to a foreign country, but some people argue that there must be other reasons. I totally agree with the statement that the main reason for learning foreign language is to travel and to work but there must be some other reasons.
On the one hand, when any individual is applying for bachelors degree or masters degree many universities required there country language certificates. The main drawback is that a person cannot survive in any country if he don't know any language about that particular country. Furthermore, Individuals have to work in an office and people will talk in their mother language. Similarly, if the person is applying for university teachers will speak in their own language. For instance, in Finland you can apply for work or education but after completing two years you have to pass a test in finnish language.
On the other hand, people do learn different languages for their partners and family. Because if a person moves to a different country and marries a local individual he wont be able to understand her partner and there will be a language barrier. In my opinion, I totally agree with the statement that the major reason for learning foreign langauge is because of work and traveling. For example, if a person is doing a remote job in an international company and different langauge is used in that company he has to learn that language. Similarly, if you are traveling to China, Japan or Korea you will learn normal phrases to ask various questions to local people living their.
In conclusion, people only prefer to learn a language when they are traveling or need a work in another country and I strongly agree with this statement.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You discuss both reasons for learning a language and state a position, particularly in the introduction and conclusion. The examples about university language requirements, employment, partners, and travel are relevant. However, the discussion is uneven: the first view receives several related points, while the alternative view is mainly reduced to learning a language for a partner or family. Your opinion is also not fully consistent: you say other reasons exist, but conclude that people “only” learn a language for travel or work. Develop the wider reasons more clearly and explain how they support your view. A more precise, consistent position and fuller explanation of each side would make the response more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader identify the main sections, and signposts such as “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” make the contrast clear. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes repetitive or abrupt. The second body paragraph shifts from family relationships to your opinion and then to work and travel examples, so its central focus is unclear. “Similarly” is also used to introduce points that do not always show a clear similarity. Group related ideas together, use topic sentences to guide each paragraph, and make links between examples and claims more explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “language barrier,” “mother language,” “certificates,” and “remote job.” Some phrasing shows an attempt to be specific, such as describing language requirements for study and work. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or repetitive, including repeated use of “learn,” “language,” and “work.” There are also word-choice and spelling problems, such as “there country language certificates,” “langauge,” and “living their,” which reduce accuracy and polish. Choose more precise collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, refer to “language proficiency certificates” and “the local language” rather than repeating general wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if a person moves to a different country” and a relative clause in “a person cannot survive in any country if…”. Meaning is generally understandable, but errors occur across sentence structures and agreement. For example, “many universities required” needs a present-tense verb, while “if he don't know” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. Articles and possessives are also inconsistent, as in “applying for bachelors degree” and “understand her partner.” Some sentences begin with “Because” without being joined to a main clause, and punctuation around these fragments needs attention. Practise accurate clause construction and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries during revision.
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