Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28

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 being the basic necessity of life plays a vital role in our life. Each one of us should have access to clean water without paying any monthly or yearly taxes to the Government. Although, in my opinion this should not be cashed. However, this being an issue lately should be addressed as soon as possible.

I understand the crucial need of saving water, but does it means to charge for something which is natural? Government should take initiatives to save and store water, also how to purify water and consume it instead of charging for something which is a basic need to survive.

A person who is already in much stress of paying electricity bills, rents and and hardly making both ends meet, does he still have to pay for this too? Everything has taxes, even if you do some grocery you have to pay tax. Is there gonna be a tax on breathing too in few years?

Government should supply water free of charge as it is something we all need and wish to consume without being charged. The stress of water outage if bill is not paid is a real concern among lower class families, and not every being can afford to pay for these basic human necessities. Survival should not be made this hard, that people start to end up their lives. Recently, in Pakistan, there were too many cases of murdering kids and then suiciding to avoid the burden of living in this era of high inflation.

My question to the government is, Is charging for clean water is an humane act?

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt directly, taking a clear stance that water should be provided free of charge by the government. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas leans heavily on emotional appeals and repetitive assertions rather than fully articulated economic or social arguments. While the writer touches upon inflation, low-income families, and basic human rights, some points are under-developed or presented in a somewhat disjointed manner, such as the extreme example introduced in the fourth paragraph. Nevertheless, all parts of the task are addressed, and the core position is clear, fitting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement, and the writer's stance is understandable from start to finish. Paragraphing is attempted, with the text broken into distinct blocks representing different facets of the argument. However, cohesion is frequently faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Although, in my opinion this should not be cashed. However, this being an issue lately...' demonstrate awkward linking and punctuation. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, and the progression between paragraphs lacks smoothness, placing this response firmly in the Band 5.0 to 5.5 range, warranting a 5.5 overall for this criterion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms like 'inflation', 'necessity', 'initiatives', and 'survival'. There are, however, noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as writing 'water being the basic necessity', 'this should not be cashed', or 'suiciding', which detract from the natural flow of the writing. While these lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings are noticeable and occasionally cause slight confusion, they do not entirely impede communication, making Band 5.0 the most accurate descriptor for lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and interrogative structures like 'A person who is already in much stress... does he still have to pay for this too?' There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and syntax throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('does it means'), missing prepositions, and non-standard phrasing ('Is charging for clean water is an humane act?'). While these errors are frequent and sometimes cause difficulty for the reader, the underlying meaning remains generally accessible, aligning with the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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