Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-26
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)
Water is the basic necessity of life. Being human our body is made up from 70% water. We need water to sustain life. However nowadays clean water is very rare.
I totally agree with the point that clean water is a basic human right. No being can live without water as it is necessary for survival. Humans just don't depend on food to live but water is also needed. Without water there is no view to life. Adding further not just food but clean water because the water solely used for drinking purposes should be devoid of any contamination. Any impurity can put the life at risk. Moreover , most industries release their waste into underground water which not impurifies the water for human use but is equally harmful for aquatic animals as well. The toxic waste further seeps down and deteriorates the quality of water. This may lead to different diseases such as hepatitis. The filthy bacteria present in contaminated water lessen the immunity and weakens the gut health. I also think that clean water should be provided free of charge and every house should have access to it.
On the other hand , if every house will have access to it people will stop counting clean water as a blessing. We have to keep this thing in consideration that even a single drop is not wasted and we should treat water as scarce. Because without clean water this globe will be nothing but just filled with deadly plagues. We should find resources to save water and as well as to keep it clean.
In conclusion , water is a privilege and should be treated as one. Water is everybody's right but preserving it is everyone's duty as well.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the human right to water and the proposal for free supply. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While you clearly state your agreement, the counter-argument regarding the potential for waste is introduced but not fully integrated or balanced against your initial position. The conclusion contradicts your earlier stance by calling water a 'privilege' rather than a 'right', which creates confusion regarding your final position. To improve, ensure that your main arguments are consistently supported and that your conclusion aligns logically with the points raised in the body paragraphs.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow between ideas is sometimes disjointed. For instance, the transition between the health impacts of contaminated water and the economic argument for free water is abrupt. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'On the other hand', but these are occasionally used mechanically. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the sentence 'if every house will have access to it people will stop counting clean water as a blessing', where the connection to the previous argument could be more explicit. Improving the use of linking words to show relationships between sentences would enhance the overall flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contamination', 'deteriorates', and 'scarce'. However, there are instances of awkward word choices and non-standard collocations, such as 'impurifies the water' (should be 'contaminates') and 'no view to life' (which is unclear). Some phrasing is repetitive, and the vocabulary lacks the precision required for higher bands. To reach a higher score, focus on using more natural collocations and avoiding the invention of words like 'impurifies'. Expanding your range to include more academic synonyms will also help.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('most industries... impurifies') and punctuation errors, such as the space before the comma in 'Moreover ,'. Some sentences are slightly fragmented or lack clarity, such as 'Humans just don't depend on food to live but water is also needed.' While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to affect the overall fluency. Focusing on proofreading for basic punctuation and ensuring consistent verb forms would significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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