Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-31

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)

Obviously, clean water is a prerequisite to every human life. Access to clean water is also one of the sustainable development goals of UN. So, each and every state should preliminary focus and develop infrastructures that provide clean and drinkable water to its population.

But, there comes another issue to provide water supply free of charge. Since, the water itself is a natural resource that is available free of cost but the costs of its extraction, storage, distribution, treatment, transmission and other related value added facilities should also be considered. On the one hand, clean water is a basic human right in contrary provision of clean water supply free of charge is an economical issue.

Water is needed to fulfill each and every daily basic needs of humans like drinking, washing, bathing, cleaning, etc. There is no life without water. Inspite of its free sources like rivers, lakes, seras, oceans, wells, springs, it should be properly treated and stored to make it potable. Natural form of water may not be suitable to human health. So, high tech treatment facilities are developed to make it usable and drinkable. Also, government need to invest huge amount of money for extraction of deep tube wells, construction of civil infrastructures for intake from sources like dams, weirs, channels, ponds, pipes, etc. Since, huge investment is needed for all these facilities, free water is a challenging facility that a nation could provide to its citizens. But, to fulfill the provision of clean water to every home, it could provide subsidies to the supplier to protect human right.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the human right to water and the economic challenges of providing it for free. However, the position is somewhat ambivalent. While you acknowledge the importance of water, you do not clearly state whether you agree or disagree with the specific proposal of 'free of charge' supply until the very end, where you suggest subsidies as a compromise. To reach a higher band, ensure your stance is clearly established in the introduction and consistently supported throughout the body paragraphs. The ideas are relevant but could be more deeply explored, particularly regarding the economic feasibility versus the moral obligation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'Since', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or abrupt, such as the start of the second paragraph ('But, there comes another issue...'). Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear; for example, the phrase 'in contrary provision' is awkward and disrupts the flow of the argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'prerequisite', 'infrastructures', 'extraction', and 'subsidies'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'seras' (likely a typo for seas) and 'in contrary provision', which is not a standard collocation. The phrase 'challenging facility' is also slightly unnatural in this context. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that less common vocabulary is used accurately to convey your meaning without ambiguity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully use some complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'government need to invest' (should be 'needs'), 'each and every daily basic needs' (should be 'need'), and 'in contrary' (should be 'on the contrary'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some issues with comma usage and sentence fragments. To achieve a higher band, focus on subject-verb agreement and refining your control over complex sentence structures to ensure they are error-free.

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

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