Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-18
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Access to clean water is a basic human right. Therefore every home should have a water supply that is provided free of charge.
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
Provision of clean water is an essential human right. All residents must be provided facility of water supply without any cost.
I strongly agree that every individual has basic right of free availability of clean water. In modern era, many communities are facing water scarcity in their local areas especially in underdeveloped countries such as Pakistan, India and China. The majority of people living in these countries are forced to drink unhygienic water because of improper management of water resources and lack of filtration plants.
Moreover, most of the people are paying taxes on drinking water even though its not clean. People have to pay to buy filter water on higher prices so that they can take of their physical health.
Additionally, Access to clean water is limited to people living in remote areas. They use government water supply and pay bills for that even it is not clean.
Majority in developing countries purchase clean water from private owned filtration plants . Ironically, people in these countries have minimum expectation of access to clean water without any fee.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 178 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you clearly state your position in the introduction, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack sufficient supporting evidence or examples. The points regarding water scarcity and the cost of filtration are relevant, but they are presented in a fragmented manner without deep analysis. To improve, you must expand on your arguments by explaining the 'why' and 'how' behind your claims, ensuring each paragraph provides a comprehensive discussion that fully addresses the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into short paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is somewhat mechanical. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'Additionally', but the progression of ideas feels disjointed due to the brevity of the text. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the lack of a concluding paragraph makes the overall structure feel incomplete. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence followed by supporting details that logically lead to the next point.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band score. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'clean water' and 'water supply'. There are also minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'facility of water supply' and 'filter water' (should be 'filtered water'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and collocations related to the topic, such as 'potable water', 'infrastructure', 'financial burden', or 'universal access', and ensure you use them in the correct grammatical context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include missing articles ('Access to clean water', 'in modern era'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward phrasing ('take of their physical health' instead of 'take care of'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing around punctuation marks. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically article usage and subject-verb agreement, and proofread your work to correct minor slips that detract from the professional tone of your writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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