Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-02
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)
Clean water is fundamental to human survival, leading many to argue that it should be supplied to every household completely free of charges as a basic rights. While i agree with that statement and i disagree with the nation that it should be provided entirely free of charge to every house without limitation.
On the other hand, a basic amount of clean water must be accessible for every house. Because cooking with pure water is very important and it maintain basic hygiene People have to avoid the high payment for water supply because if wealthy family pay the amount than low income families may the disadvantage for supply pure water than they have to pay also. Therefore, government should supply minimum quantity of pure water for every families.
On the other hand, providing an unlimited water supply free of charges for the citizens is economically and environmentally unsustainable. Because government have clean the water and they have to purify so that they use some mechins which is payable and also they have massive financial investment for example pipeline and those staffs who work with them. If water is totally free, government is struggling to maintain our economy balance. However, that is why governtment should free some quantity of pure water so that after finishing people can purceching it.
In conclusion, while safe water is undoubtedly a basic human right, making it totally free it will effect our economy balance. So a basic amount of pure water should be free for household.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by taking a balanced position, arguing for a tiered system rather than completely free water. While the position is clear, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the argument regarding 'wealthy families' paying for water is a good point, but it lacks depth. The essay covers all parts of the task, but the reasoning in the second paragraph regarding economic and environmental sustainability is slightly repetitive and could have been more clearly articulated to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is relevant and maintains a consistent stance throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition 'On the other hand' is used twice to start paragraphs, which is not appropriate as the second instance does not introduce a contrasting point to the first. Additionally, some sentences are disjointed, such as 'Because cooking with pure water is very important and it maintain basic hygiene People have to avoid...', where the lack of punctuation and clear linking words makes the flow slightly awkward.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of word-choice errors and non-standard collocations, such as 'purceching it' (purchasing), 'mechins' (machines), and 'staffs' (staff). While the meaning is generally clear, the limited range of vocabulary prevents a higher score. To improve, you should focus on using more precise terminology related to economics and public policy, such as 'subsidized,' 'infrastructure,' or 'fiscal sustainability,' rather than relying on simpler, sometimes inaccurate, phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('it maintain'), article usage ('the nation' instead of 'the notion'), and sentence fragments ('Because cooking with pure water is very important...'). Furthermore, there are several spelling errors ('governtment', 'purceching'). While the meaning is usually understandable, the frequency of these errors indicates a lack of control over complex structures, which keeps the score in the 5.5 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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