Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-05

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)

Nowadays, clean water is essential for everyone thus, every home should have a water supply that is provided free of charge. This essay will discuss agree viewpoints in the following paragraph.

To begin with, clean water is necessary for people's health and daily lives. People use water for drinking, bathing, washing and maintaining personal hygiene. In other words, if poor families cannot afford an supply of clean water, they may face difficulty in health issues such as dehydration. For example, a survey conducted by government showed that 98% people lost their lives because of shortage of water due to charges on access to clean water. Hence, access to clean water is basic human right and should be provided free of cost.

On the other hand, government should provide less charge on water supply because this charge is necessary for regulating economy. In addition, it is responsibility of government to access clean water to every household with reasonable price to water supply because people will able to manage basic necessaries of their household. For instance, a study showed that every person had different responsibilities and financial issues and if they had less charge of water supply, they can maintain their other expenses. Hence, government should provide less charge on access to clean water.

In conclusion, clean water is a basic human right for every citizen. Therefore, every home should have a water supply that is provided free of charge. Although, it is basic human right for every citizen to access free water for basic need such as drinking, washing and bathing.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt, but the development of ideas is inconsistent. While you state a position, the second body paragraph contradicts the first by arguing for 'less charge' rather than 'free of charge,' which weakens your overall argument. The supporting examples, such as the claim that '98% of people lost their lives because of shortage of water,' are hyperbolic and lack credibility, which affects the quality of your task response. To improve, ensure your position is consistent throughout the essay and use more logical, realistic evidence to support your claims.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and you use basic cohesive devices like 'To begin with,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion.' However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and logical gaps. For instance, the transition between the need for free water and the argument for 'less charge' is abrupt and confusing. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and some sentences feel disjointed. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows logically from the previous one would help improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and lacks precision. You frequently use basic terms like 'charge,' 'water supply,' and 'basic human right.' There are also some collocation errors, such as 'face difficulty in health issues' and 'provide less charge on water supply,' which sound unnatural. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to economics and social policy, and pay closer attention to how words are combined in English to ensure your writing sounds more professional and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'by government' instead of 'by the government'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'people will able to'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'access clean water to every household'). While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency of the text. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly improve your accuracy.

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