Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-22

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

It is sometimes possible to pay somebody to do things you don't want to do, or don't have time to do, for example, household chores or looking after children.

Is this a good way of providing work for others?

Should people do these things themselves?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

To hire some professionals to do things you can not do yourself because of time constraints, such as household work and childcare. In the busy life routine of individuals and parents, hiring professionals to take care of their household work and children care which is very convenient for them, but there will also be some drawbacks.

To hire some professionals to do some works which you are not able to do because of a busy life and personal unavailability. In my experience, that arrangement provides convenience to take care of household work and children because they are able to do multiple things at the same time, which is not possible for individuals and parents when they are busy with other necessary tasks or jobs. This act of busy individuals and parents shows their responsible act because it is a good way to tackle time-critical and sometimes skill-requiring tasks of household work.

In some instances, it is not possible for some individuals and parents to hire a professional to do their household work and childcare because of the affordability to pay them, as their income does not support hiring them. Secondly, in the case of childcare, hiring a professional is not an obvious replacement for the parents because it needs continued care, and sometimes children do not like that they are looking for only parental care. So, in my point of view, parents should consider taking care of their children themselves.

So my experience is that hiring professionals is a good and convenient way of dealing with household care when its require some special skills, or you are able to pay them conveniently. For children's care, parents should consider themselves, but in some situations when it's not possible, only in that situation consider hiring a professional for the time being.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the benefits of providing work for others and the question of whether people should perform these tasks themselves. However, the development is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the first two paragraphs which restate the same points. The position is clear, but the arguments lack depth and specific examples. The introduction is not a complete sentence, which affects the overall clarity of the stance. To improve, you should ensure each paragraph introduces a distinct, well-supported idea rather than restating the premise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is hindered by repetitive phrasing and a lack of varied cohesive devices. While some linking words like 'secondly' and 'in my point of view' are used, the transitions between sentences are often mechanical or awkward. The opening paragraph is fragmented, making it difficult to follow the initial argument. Improving the use of referencing (e.g., using pronouns to avoid repeating 'hiring professionals') and employing a wider range of cohesive devices would significantly enhance the flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'do things' and 'do some works' are imprecise. There is an attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'time constraints' and 'affordability', but the overall range is limited. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and avoid repeating the same words throughout the essay. For example, instead of 'do things', use 'delegate responsibilities' or 'outsource tasks'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as the sentence fragment at the beginning ('To hire some professionals...') and issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'when its require' instead of 'when it requires'). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of complex sentence structures and the frequency of minor errors limit the score. To improve, focus on constructing complete, grammatically correct sentences and incorporating a variety of complex structures like relative clauses or conditional sentences.

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

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