Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-21

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)

Due to the increase in levels of water pollution, accessbility to clean water has been widely argued. It is claimed that every home should have a free access to clean water supply as it is a basic human right. I strongly agree with this belief that clean water is required for essential daily needs as well as for better health but to meet its current demand governments should also charge a marginal fee.

Everyone needs water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes. These are activities that may not be carried out without clean water but the increase in the population and water pollution has significantly rose the demand of clean water. Therefore, governments can tackle the growing demand through the implementation of afforadable taxes. For example, if water is not available for drinking and preparing a meal, people might die due to water scarcity and hunger. Therefore to ensure everyone is getting clean water for their needs the government can charge their population for water that they are using every month.

Additionally, if people drink contaminated water, they may suffer with multiple water-borne disease. The intensity of disease may get severe due to unavailability of clean water. This is why, there is a dire need for governments to develop regulations for their population. For example, continuous drinking of water which is released from a factory may cause several metals to accumulate in residents body. As a result, their health might start deteriorating and people pay huge bills at hospitals. Government can pass laws to ensure everyone has access to clean water

In conclusion, clean water is a basic necessity for life so governments should make it accessable to everyone by developing regulation and taxes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position throughout the essay. The introduction clearly states a strong agreement with the idea that clean water is a basic right, while also introducing a nuanced counter-argument regarding government costs. Main ideas are extended and supported with relevant explanations, such as the mention of drinking, cooking, and health impacts. However, there is a slight contradiction and shift in the student's position within the body paragraphs. In the introduction, the writer states they strongly agree that every home should have free access, yet in the first body paragraph, they argue that governments should 'charge a marginal fee' and 'charge their population for water' to meet demand and tackle scarcity. This creates some confusion regarding whether they truly support completely free water or a subsidized model. Consequently, the task response reaches Band 6.5, as the position is somewhat blurred by this internal contradiction, despite the clear overall argumentation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by two body paragraphs focusing on daily needs and health risks respectively, and ending with a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Additionally', 'Therefore', and 'As a result'. However, referencing and paragraph internal cohesion are occasionally faulty or repetitive. For instance, the word 'Therefore' is used in consecutive sentences ('Therefore, governments can tackle...' and 'Therefore to ensure everyone...'), which makes the transitional phrasing mechanical. Furthermore, the progression of ideas in the second body paragraph jumps somewhat abruptly from water-borne diseases to industrial pollution without a smooth transitional link. Overall arrangement is coherent, earning a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'water pollution', 'water scarcity', 'contaminated water', and 'deteriorating'. There are, however, several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including 'accessbility' instead of accessibility, 'rose' instead of raised, 'afforadable' instead of affordable, and 'disease' instead of diseases. Additionally, the phrase 'suffer with' is less natural than 'suffer from'. While these lexical errors occur, they do not impede communication. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary with mixed accuracy, placing this response firmly in the Band 6.0 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures ('if water is not available... people might die') and relative clauses ('water which is released from a factory'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation lapses throughout the text, such as missing commas after introductory phrases ('This is why, there is a dire need...' and 'In conclusion, clean water...'), and prepositional issues like 'residents body' instead of residents' bodies. While these errors are noticeable, the majority of sentences are constructed successfully, and meaning is rarely obscured. The control of grammar aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

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