User-written IELTS example
Writing Academic Task 2 Band 4.0 Example
Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.
Illustrative target band for this original model answer.
Plan your answer
Try your own response before reading the samples.
Ideas to explore
- Explain how difficulty following informal conversations, humour or local customs can make it harder to form friendships and feel included.
- Show how language barriers can affect access to essential services, including healthcare, housing and employment.
- Acknowledge that interpreters and language classes can help, while explaining why they may not remove immediate difficulties.
Suggested structure
- Introduce the issue and state a clear degree of agreement.
- Develop social consequences in one focused paragraph, using a concrete everyday example.
- Explain practical consequences in a separate paragraph and connect each example to its potential impact.
- Recognise possible support, then explain its limits.
- Conclude by restating the position and summarising the two main categories of problems.
Useful vocabulary & examples
- a weaker sense of belonging
- a reduced feeling of being accepted as part of a community
Being unable to follow group conversations may give newcomers a weaker sense of belonging.
- essential services
- important services people need, such as healthcare or housing support
Language barriers can make it harder to access essential services.
- misunderstand official instructions
- interpret guidance from an organisation or authority incorrectly
A person may misunderstand official instructions when completing a form in a second language.
- translation services
- professional or organised help converting spoken or written information into another language
Translation services can help patients explain their symptoms to medical staff.
Task Prompt
User Essay Analysis
Review the public answer with report-style highlights.
Living in a country with a various language can cause serious social problems as well as practical problems. This change in language normally happened when people move abroad for better job opportunities, higher education or better life standards. I believe change in language can cause communication problems. When it comes to speaking in another language, a person may struggle with both everyday conversation and important instructions. I agree this can create serious problems when support is unavailable.
Social difficulties can arise because relationships depend on more than exchanging basic information. Someone may understand individual words but miss humour, indirect requests or the meaning of a group conversation. This can make it difficult to join discussions and form close friendships. A person who repeatedly feels uncertain may begin to avoid social contact, reducing opportunities to improve their language skills as well as increasing isolation.
Practical tasks can also become challenging. Instructions from a landlord, a medical appointment or a notice from a public office may contain unfamiliar vocabulary with important consequences. Misunderstanding a deadline or a description of symptoms is more serious than making a minor conversational mistake. Written translations can help, but they do not always explain context or allow someone to ask the follow-up questions they need.
These problems are not inevitable for every resident. Some people already know the local language well, and others have access to classes, interpreters or supportive colleagues. Daily practice can gradually make ordinary interactions easier. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe all foreign-language speakers as unable to participate successfully in their new communities.
Nevertheless, I agree that inadequate language proficiency can create serious social and practical problems. The relevant issue is a mismatch between a person's current ability and the demands of the situation, rather than the mere fact that a language is foreign. Accessible language teaching and suitable support for important services can reduce that mismatch.
In conclusion, limited proficiency may affect friendships, confidence and essential everyday tasks. These risks justify support and preparation, but they should not be treated as permanent barriers that no learner can overcome.
Targeted Improvement Tips
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