Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17
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 a basic need of human life. Therefore, every home should have an access to clear water supply without any charges. I agree, with the statement that clean water should be widely available for every human being. Firstly, it would help in reducing health problems and provides a secure environment. Secondly, free availabilty would become affordable for the underpriviledged people of the society.
One of the reason that it should be accessible to every home is increasing health issues of the people. Many people use tap water for their daily intake which is not clean therefore,results in dietary problems. Furthermore, people experienced skin problems because their intake is not properly fulfilled. In spite of the fact, that it is a duty of the government to fulfill the demand of water supply, many people still thriving for this basic necessity. For example, if government start taking steps to make it available for every human of the community, people will face less health issues.
On the other hand, there is a significant increase in the cost of water supply. Due to high prices of clean water, it had become unaffordable for the low-income people. People from the lower background cannot sufficiently fulfill their water requirement, utlimately results in the use of tap water or the water that is sold for a cheaper price. For instance, goverments should step forward and reduce the cost of water, so that clean water should be accessible to people from every background.
In conclusion, although water is a basic need of human life, it had become unaffordable to have it.I strongly agree with the free availability of water to everyone free of cost, so that it can reduce health issues among individuals.
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 clearly stating a position agreeing that clean water should be provided free of charge. The writer puts forward relevant ideas, such as reducing health issues and making water affordable for underprivileged populations. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive in places. For instance, the discussion on health issues and water costs spans multiple paragraphs with overlapping points rather than thoroughly extending distinct arguments. Furthermore, there is a contradiction in the third paragraph where the writer suggests reducing the cost rather than providing it completely free, which slightly muddies the stance. Nevertheless, all parts of the prompt are addressed, placing this comfortably at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and body paragraphs are demarcated adequately. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and paragraph internal cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, 'One of the reason that it should be accessible...' contains a singular/plural agreement error and transitions awkwardly. Additionally, the phrase 'On the other hand' is used to introduce another argument supporting the same side rather than presenting a counter-argument. Paragraphing is present, but logical progression between ideas falters slightly due to repetition.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms like 'underprivileged', 'necessity', and 'low-income'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'availabilty', 'underpriviledged', 'thriving' (used instead of 'striving'), and 'utlimately'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score. Less common items are attempted, but collocation and precision are inconsistent, which prevents the writing from reaching Band 7.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('if government start taking steps...') and subordinate clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, articles, and agreement. Examples include 'every home should have an access' (unnecessary article), 'results in dietary problems' (missing subject/pluralisation issues), 'if government start' (subject-verb agreement), and 'it had become unaffordable' (incorrect tense usage). Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and communication is rarely impeded, justifying a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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