Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-05

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 5.5)

It is argued that many people nowadays are hiring a personal fitness trainer, rather than doing exercise classes in the sports centers. Two distinct sides can be observed regarding this issue.

This essay will discuss the main impact of this development, before concluding with a final prespective.

To begin with, a large number of people are hiring a personal fitness trainer to do their daily exercise routine, rather than going to the sports centers and practice sport classes.

For instance, in the USA many famous and wealthy people tend to hire a personal fitness trainer at home, to help them practice their daily exercise. They believe it is a method to gain time and effort, rather than going to the gym.

In addition to this, this category of individuals tend to spend quality time and focus on their body image by hiring personal instructor at home. Furthermore, doing sports out of doors, might cause the loss of precious time. For example, many famous actors around the world, believe that their time is very valuable. Therefore, they try to do what they can just to save it.

In my point of view, I believe if a person have a suitable financial income that qualifies him to hire a personal instructor at home, he can definitely do it. It allows them to focus of their bodies more and gain more time and peace.

To sum up, although many individuals believe that people should be training in groups, others assume it is more effective to hire a personal trainer at home.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for hiring personal trainers and the evaluation of whether this is a positive or negative development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. The essay focuses heavily on the idea of 'saving time' for wealthy individuals, which is a relevant point, but it fails to explore other common reasons, such as the need for personalized health plans or the social aspect of group classes. The position is clear, but the argument lacks depth and breadth, resulting in a somewhat superficial treatment of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear introduction and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'In addition to this', and 'To sum up', which help guide the reader. However, some of the transitions feel mechanical, and the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas could be more sophisticated to move beyond simple listing of points. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There is some repetition of basic phrases like 'personal fitness trainer' and 'exercise'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'financial income' and 'body image', there are instances of slightly unnatural collocations, such as 'practice sport classes' instead of 'participate in exercise classes'. The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or sophistication needed for a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('this category of individuals tend', 'if a person have'), and minor punctuation or phrasing errors ('focus of their bodies' instead of 'focus on'). While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. The student demonstrates an attempt at complex structures, but the control over these structures is inconsistent, leading to a reliance on simpler, more repetitive sentence patterns.

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

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