Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-19

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some countries, more and more people are hiring a personal fitness trainer, rather than playing sports or doing exercise classes. What are the reasons for this? Is this a positive or a negative development?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Nowadays, a lot of individuals prefer private trainers instead of engaging in public sports or attend exercise classes. I strongly believe that this affects the individual negatively because it affects the social life of that person.

To begin with, the disadvantage of hiring private trainers is usually more expensive and inaccessible to people with lower income. This is because private trainers require more funding than when in a public sports setting. For example, individuals who attend public training sessions pay lesser and in most cases, they receive discounts from the management of the centers. Due to this, there is effective and constant training without having to worry about paying more.

Also, private trainers requires commitment

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is significantly under the required 250-word minimum, which severely limits your ability to develop your ideas. You have identified a position, but the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly after only two paragraphs. You have not addressed the reasons for the trend in sufficient detail, nor have you provided a balanced discussion on whether this is a positive or negative development. Because the task is not fully addressed due to the lack of length and incomplete arguments, the score is restricted.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay shows some attempt at logical organization, using transition signals like 'To begin with' and 'Also'. However, the abrupt ending and the very limited length mean that there is no clear overall progression or conclusion. Paragraphing is present, but the second paragraph is incomplete, which disrupts the flow of the argument. To improve, ensure you fully develop each point before moving to the next and provide a clear structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for the topic, such as 'engaging in public sports' and 'inaccessible'. However, the range is quite limited due to the brevity of the text. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'pay lesser' instead of 'pay less'. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to incorporate a wider variety of topic-specific vocabulary and ensure collocations are accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text contains a mix of simple and some complex structures, but there are noticeable errors. For example, 'private trainers requires' shows a subject-verb agreement error, and 'instead of engaging in public sports or attend exercise classes' lacks parallel structure. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in such a short text indicates a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of basic grammatical rules.

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

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