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Culture: IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Many minority languages around the world are at risk of disappearing completely within the next few decades. Why is this happening? What are the consequences of losing a language?

Question type: Two-part question · Write at least 250 words · About 40 minutes

How to approach it

This is a two-part question, so you must answer both parts fully and give them roughly equal space. The first part asks about causes (why), and the second asks about consequences (what happens when a language is lost). A common trap is spending most of the essay on causes and only mentioning consequences briefly in one sentence. Treat each part as a separate body paragraph with developed ideas and examples.

Suggested outline

Intro: paraphrase the topic and briefly preview both parts — languages are vanishing due to globalisation and urbanisation, and this has serious cultural and intellectual consequences.
Body 1 (causes): explain why minority languages are disappearing — dominance of global languages in education and media, rural-to-urban migration breaking intergenerational transmission, and government policies that favour a single national language.
Body 2 (consequences): explain what is lost — unique cultural knowledge and traditions encoded in the language, reduced linguistic diversity which limits academic research, and weakened sense of identity for the remaining speakers.
Conclusion: summarise by linking the two parts — the causes are largely economic and social, but the losses are cultural and irreversible, so preservation efforts matter.

Ideas for part one

Globalisation makes dominant languages like English or Mandarin essential for jobs and education, so parents raise children in those languages instead
Migration to cities separates younger generations from elderly speakers who maintain the language
State education systems often teach only in the official language, leaving no space for minority tongues

Ideas for part two

Each language carries unique oral histories, medicinal knowledge and cultural practices that cannot be fully translated
When a language dies, its speakers often experience a loss of identity and belonging, leading to social problems
Linguistic diversity supports academic fields such as anthropology, cognitive science and historical research

Band 7+ vocabulary

intergenerational transmission – the process of parents passing their language on to their children
linguistic diversity – the variety of different languages spoken in the world or a region
mother tongue – the first language a person learns at home as a child
cultural heritage – traditions, knowledge and customs passed down through generations
language revitalisation – organised efforts to increase the use of a language that is in decline
an endangered language – a language with so few remaining speakers that it may soon cease to be used

Common mistakes on this question

Spending three-quarters of the essay on causes and only one or two sentences on consequences, which leaves the second part underdeveloped.
Listing many causes or consequences without explaining any in detail — for example, mentioning 'globalisation' without showing how it actually reduces language use.
Offering solutions such as government funding or bilingual schools when the question does not ask for them, wasting words that should go towards answering the two required parts.

Band ladder

The same essay at four band levels

One plan, written at band 5.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0. Compare them to see exactly which sentences change as the score rises.

Band 5.5271 words · marked by the StudyChat examinerTR6.0CC6.0LR5.5GRA6.0

Nowadays, many minority languages in the world are in danger of disappearing in the next few decades. There are several reasons for this problem and it also has some important consequences. In this essay I will discuss both of these.

Firstly², minority languages are disappearing because of globalisation. Many people now prefer to learn big languages like English or Mandarin because they are useful for getting jobs and education. In addition, when young people move from villages to cities for work, they stop speaking their local language and start using the national language instead. Also, some governments only support one language in schools and offices, so minority languages are not taught to children. Because of this, the older generation speaks the language but young people do not learn it.

Secondly, losing a language has many bad consequences³. When a language dies, the culture and traditions of that community is also lost because many knowledges are kept in the language¹. For example, stories and songs that people have for many generations will disappear forever⁴. Moreover, if we lose many languages, it is bad for researchers who study about languages and human history. Finally, the people who still speak that language will feel sad and lose their sense of identity, which is very harmful for their community.

In conclusion, minority languages are disappearing mainly because of economic and social reasons such as globalisation and migration to cities. However, the consequences of losing languages are very serious because culture and identity cannot be brought back. Therefore, I believe that governments and communities should make efforts to preserve these languages before it is too late.

Examiner notes

1
Grammar
Subject-verb agreement error ('traditions … is') and incorrect uncountable noun form ('knowledges'). These are typical band-5 grammar slips; 'knowledge' should remain uncountable and the verb should be 'are'.
2
Coherence & Cohesion
Cohesive devices are present but mechanical and formulaic ('Firstly', 'Secondly', 'In addition', 'Moreover'). More flexible linking would lift this criterion.
3
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate but lacks precision; 'bad consequences' is vague. A phrase such as 'far-reaching cultural consequences' would demonstrate a wider range.
4
Task Response
The example is relevant but underdeveloped. Explaining how oral traditions carry practical knowledge (e.g. medicinal or ecological) would strengthen the response.

High-band model answer

Show the model answer (try writing your own first)

Across the globe, hundreds of minority languages are spoken by shrinking communities and face the real threat of extinction. This essay will examine the main reasons behind this trend and discuss the significant consequences of losing a language.

The primary cause is the growing dominance of a small number of global languages, particularly English and Mandarin, in education, commerce and the media. Parents in minority-language communities often choose to raise their children in the dominant tongue because fluency in it opens doors to higher education and better employment. At the same time, rural-to-urban migration means that younger speakers move away from the older relatives who would normally pass the language on, breaking the chain of intergenerational transmission. Government policies can accelerate this process when schooling is delivered exclusively in the official national language, giving children neither the opportunity nor the motivation to develop literacy in their mother tongue.

The consequences of language loss are profound and largely irreversible. Every language encodes a unique worldview, and with it come centuries of oral history, ecological knowledge and cultural practices that cannot be fully captured through translation. When the last speakers of a language die, this intellectual heritage disappears permanently. Furthermore, the remaining community members frequently report a weakened sense of identity and belonging, which can contribute to social problems such as alienation and mental health difficulties. From a broader academic perspective, reduced linguistic diversity limits research in fields like cognitive science and anthropology, where the comparison of different language structures deepens our understanding of human thought.

In conclusion, minority languages are vanishing mainly because economic pressures and urbanisation favour dominant languages, while the consequences range from cultural and intellectual loss to damage to community wellbeing. Given that these losses are permanent, efforts to document and revitalise endangered languages deserve serious attention.

Written for StudyChat as an example of a high-band answer. Word count: 299.

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Culture: IELTS Writing Task 2 question

How to approach it

Suggested outline

Ideas for part one

Ideas for part two

Band 7+ vocabulary

Common mistakes on this question

The same essay at four band levels

Examiner notes

High-band model answer

Write your answer and get a band score

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Culture: IELTS Writing Task 2 question

How to approach it

Suggested outline

Ideas for part one

Ideas for part two

Band 7+ vocabulary

Common mistakes on this question

The same essay at four band levels

Examiner notes

High-band model answer

Write your answer and get a band score

Your recent checks

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