Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-03

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)

In this topic we will discuss about different opinions of people about foreign languages that whether we should only learn foreign languages in order to do job and travel, and on the other hand people say that this isn't the only reason, there must be some other reasons too. So here we will discuss both topics and i will give my opinion, i will also share couple of my experiences.

People who gave reason of the learning of foreign language for the sake of travelling and work gave us a very solid and strong point. As when people of english speaking countires migrate to Spain,Italy etc. they're very reluctant in speaking the host country's language especially people going there for work often face difficulties in communicating with locals therefore there are very limited chances of getting a white collar job. For example, If i travel to another country like Germany for work purpose and my job description is as a front desk associate, as i'm the front face of the organisation and if someone gets to me and ask for something in their native language, I'll definitely become numb and it can cost me my job. So if i don't learn the language of the host's country, it'll be complicated professional journey for me.

Other than that about job and traveling, there are several other reasons people debate and one of them is that people should learn foreign language so they can communicate with eachother in a meeting when they don't want anyone else to hear a point. When i was working in a hotel, my front office manager knew 6 different languages and he taugh all languages to his wife, so whenever he used to communicate with her wife in front of us, he used to talk in french so we shouldn't understood what they're talking about.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both views and include a personal example, so the response is relevant to the prompt. The first body paragraph explains how language skills can help people communicate at work abroad, supported by the hotel-reception scenario. However, the second view is represented mainly by the example of a manager speaking privately with his wife; this is a narrow and somewhat questionable reason, and it does not explain broader benefits such as cultural understanding, education, or relationships. Your own opinion is also not clearly stated: the introduction promises one, but the essay does not give a definite conclusion or weigh the two positions. Develop both sides more fully and state your view explicitly, with reasons, to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable introduction and separate paragraphs for the two views, and expressions such as “On the other hand” and “Other than that” help signal a change in focus. The examples also give the reader some sense of how each point is intended to work. However, progression is limited: the introduction repeats the task, and the essay ends abruptly after the anecdote without a concluding paragraph that brings the discussion together or states your position. Some links are awkward or unclear, including “Other than that about job and traveling,” while the long opening sentence carries several ideas at once. Use a clearer topic sentence for each paragraph, connect each example directly to its main point, and finish with a concise conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “host country's language,” “communicating with locals,” “front desk associate,” and “professional journey,” which helps convey the work-related example. There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “white collar job.” However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are inaccurate or unnatural, for example “gave reason of the learning,” “front face of the organisation,” and “communicate with eachother.” Spelling and capitalization slips such as “countires,” “taugh,” and lowercase “i” are noticeable. These do not prevent the main message from being understood, but they reduce precision. Build a wider set of natural collocations for discussing language learning and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if I travel to another country … and if my job description is…” and a relative clause beginning “people going there for work.” These attempts show some range, but complex sentences are often difficult to control, and errors recur. For example, “there are very limited chances” is followed by an unclear explanation, “if someone gets to me and ask” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “so we shouldn't understood” uses an incorrect verb form. The opening sentence also joins several clauses without clear punctuation, and tense shifts in the hotel anecdote make the sequence harder to follow. Aim for shorter, well-controlled sentences and check agreement, verb forms, articles, and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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