Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-08

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 should be access to every one because of human rights. However, i disagree with this view. People should pay certain amount of tax to get clean water so that they will control its use.

To start with, in India people generally pay water tax every year in order to get clean water supply at their home and it is common in many countires too. People generally pay certain amount as water tax to obtain clean water. The reason of taking tax is by paying tax people will use it carefully. Also, by paying water tax they will know the importance of water. Let us understand it by an example, if water is provided free of cost then people will use it rationally and if government put some taxes on it then people will stop unnecessary usage of it in order to save money.

Secondly, the tax money is often used in purify the water. Government spend ample amonut of money to saperate clean water from industrial chemicals so paying certain amount as tax is acceptable. This can be understood by example of Surat municiple corporation. For instance, SMC spends alot money to separate wate and harmful chemicals from factories and industial sites.

On the other side, some people are not able to pay taxes and they generally use water from lake which often considered as not drinkable, after drinking this poinsonous water they may face serious illness like cancer. However, it could be overcome if Government takes taxes on certain usage of water.

To put in a nutshell, people should pay certain amount of tax to access clean water. Because, in that way they will learn how important water is. Additionally, Government spend alot money to separate water from factories so it is understable to pay certain tax in order to obtain clean water.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you disagree with free household water and support charging users. You give relevant reasons, including encouraging careful use and funding water treatment, and the India and Surat examples help connect the argument to real contexts. You also acknowledge that some people cannot afford taxes, so the response engages with a counterpoint. However, this concern is not resolved convincingly: the claim that taxing water would overcome inability to pay needs explanation, and the risk of illness from lake water is asserted rather than developed. Clarify whether you support a charge for all water or a tax, and explain how essential access would be protected for low-income households.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two supporting paragraphs, a counterpoint and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To start with,” “Secondly,” and “On the other side” make the stages of the argument easy to identify. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. In the first body paragraph, the example says people would use water rationally if it were free, then says taxes would stop unnecessary use; this reverses the intended contrast and weakens progression. The paragraph about people unable to pay also ends with a solution that does not clearly address their problem. Use clearer links between claims and examples, and ensure each paragraph develops one consistent point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “water tax,” “industrial chemicals,” “unnecessary usage,” and “serious illness.” These choices allow you to communicate the main argument, but the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems make the writing less precise. For example, “pay certain amount of tax” and “spends alot money” are not natural formulations, while “separate water from factories” does not accurately express the treatment process. There are also misspellings such as “saperate,” “poinsonous,” and “understable.” Build a more precise set of terms for water provision, treatment and affordability, and check spelling and common word combinations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “so that,” and “if,” and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms occur across the response. Examples include “clean water should be access to every one,” “people will use it carefully” after the conditional “if water is provided,” and “Government spend” where the subject requires a matching verb form. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “pay certain amount” and the comma splice in “Because, in that way they will learn how important water is.” Practise accurate conditional sentences, subject–verb agreement, articles and punctuation, then proofread each sentence for a complete grammatical structure.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.