Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-29
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 elixir of life so certainly every living organism should have access to it. Although, whether it should be free of cost is a sensitive matter as many aspects might need to be taken under observation.
Water being free of charge to humans definitely comes with innumerous advantages and disadvantages. For instance, being rich, poor or middle class would be irrelevant. However, our mother Earth has limited amount of drinkable waster left for living organisms. according the latest record, 7% of the total water on the planet has been left for us to use. Rest is salted. Irresponsible usage of this unsalted water would lead to enormous amount of water going to waste. Putting a control over it is a necessity.
To illustrate, a young girl used to beg near the railway station. Few weeks ago, she was thirsty and was in a need to drink something to calm down. A few kind young men helped her by buying a bottle of water so that she won't suffer and die. So definitely and with utmost certainty, in my opinion water needs to be free of charge to every human existing on this planet together with putting restrictions and abductions to it - to make sure we are never going in scarcity of water.
In conclusion, several measures can be taken to resolve this issue by considering both advantages as well as disadvantages to ensure no human suffers, water is supplied to every human, not gone to waste as well as water doesn't run out on our planet.
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 idea of free water, but the development of ideas is inconsistent. While you acknowledge both sides, the argument lacks depth. For example, the mention of '7% of total water' is factually unclear and does not effectively support the argument regarding the economic feasibility of free water. The personal anecdote about the young girl is emotive but does not provide a strong logical basis for a global policy on water pricing. To improve, focus on expanding your reasoning regarding the economic or social implications of free water rather than relying on anecdotal evidence.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or misused. For instance, the phrase 'abductions to it' in the third paragraph is unclear and disrupts the flow of the argument. Additionally, the transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs could be smoother. While there is a logical progression, the connection between the ideas within the paragraphs is occasionally weak, making the overall argument feel somewhat disjointed.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'elixir', 'scarcity', and 'irresponsible'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'taken under observation' instead of 'considered', 'innumerous' (which is non-standard; 'innumerable' or 'numerous' would be better), and 'abductions' (which is incorrect in this context). These errors occasionally impede the precision of your meaning. To reach a higher band, focus on using collocations more accurately and avoiding non-standard word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of your writing. Examples include 'according the latest record' (missing 'to'), '7% of the total water... has been left' (tense/article usage), and 'so that she won't suffer' (tense consistency). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely prevent understanding, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.