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)
In the current developing world, water pollution is a major concern for the deterioration of public health. There has been an ongoing debate regarding that whether, each house should have water supply for free, which gives them availability to purified water or not. I agree that i must be made free. This essay will explore valid reason for my agreement along with relevant examples in the ensuing paragraph.
The principle reason, for my agreement is that each person can have excess to clean water, regardless to their social or economic status. This is because many individuals can not afford buying clean purified water which is suitable for drinking. Consequently, this type of individuals suffers from malnutrition due to lack of water intake. For instances, the public dwelling in slum areas have very low body mass index.
Furthermore, the peoples who cannot get clean purified drinking water, preferred to use water from different sources like lakes, rivers, ponds and other water bodies, which causes many diseases like cholera. This occurs due to the presence of microorganisms. For example bacteria, viruses and many heavy metals such as lead, magnesium, sodium and many more. As a result, it causes lead poisoning.
On the contrary, others believe that, one must pay to get access to clean water. This is because, it cost some money to purify water. So, to generate some revenue to do this process, it should have a minimal charge.
In conclusion, although it should have enough revenue to complete the cleaning process of water. However, it must be made free to get clean water to reduce diseases rates, which are caused due to water.
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 all parts of the task and takes a clear position in agreement with the prompt. The writer presents relevant main ideas, such as ensuring access for lower-income individuals and preventing water-borne diseases, and supports them with explanations and examples (e.g., mentioning slum areas and cholera). However, some of the supporting points are slightly under-developed or contain factual leaps, such as linking lack of water intake directly to malnutrition or attributing heavy metals like lead to natural microorganisms. Overall, the prompt is adequately answered and a clear stance is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments, such as the social benefits versus the economic counter-argument. However, cohesion is at times faulty and mechanical. The writer uses transitional phrases like 'The principle reason, for my agreement' and 'On the contrary, others believe that,' which manage the flow, but referencing and logical connectors are sometimes awkward or imprecise. For instance, the transition into the counter-argument lacks smooth integration. Paragraphing is present, but progression between ideas could be sharper.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their ideas about water pollution and public health. There are attempts to use less common items such as 'deterioration', 'malnutrition', and 'microorganisms'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as writing 'excess to clean water' instead of 'access', 'afford buying' instead of 'afford to buy', and 'this type of individuals'. Spelling and word formation are generally clear, but these lexical inaccuracies pull the score to the lower end of the band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinate clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent punctuation and structural errors, such as comma splices and unnecessary commas ('The principle reason, for my agreement is...'), subject-verb agreement issues ('the peoples who cannot get...', 'diseases rates'), and article misuse ('in the ensuing paragraph', 'it cost some money'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the essay from reaching a Band 6.5 or 7.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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