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)
Water is one of the most important parameter in our life, therefore accessing it considered a foundational human right. Some people argue that supplying water to every home should provided without any money. To some extent, i agree that government should provide water and make it easily to access, however it should be provided with a small charge, not fully free.
Accessing water to every home is a basic right for human. Water is essential for drinking, cooking, hygiene and sanitation. This lead to that people could not be reasonably expected to live without it. In addition, low-income families should not have to choose between paying for water and paying for food or electricity and this may be a financial burden for them. Therefore, governments have a responsibility to ensure universal access to clean water.
On the other hand, governments should not necessary guarantee access unlimited or free of charge. First, governments need money to maintain water infrastructure. if even water taxes are not that much, but it would help them upgrade their water treatment facilities. Furthermore, people might use water more than they need, if water services are free. Thus, providing it with even a few charge would prevent wasteful usage of money.
Consequently, Accessing water easily without any financial issues is crucial to our daily basis. Although, adding taxes for this service would assist government to invest in water infrastructure and prevent people wasting water
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
Your position is identifiable: you support access to water but argue that a small charge is preferable to making it entirely free. You give relevant reasons on both sides, including the needs of low-income families, infrastructure costs, and the risk of waste. However, these points are only briefly explained; for example, the claim that a charge would prevent waste would be stronger with a concrete example or clearer explanation. The conclusion also restates your view without fully resolving the contrast between affordability and funding. The response is 237 words, so it does not meet the required minimum of 250 words. Develop each main reason further and add a relevant example to address the task more fully.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph explaining why water access matters, a counterargument about costs and usage, and a concluding statement. Connectors such as “In addition,” “On the other hand,” and “Therefore” help signal relationships between ideas. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “This lead to that” does not clearly connect the importance of water to the conclusion that people cannot live without it, and “Consequently” introduces a conclusion that largely repeats earlier points. The final paragraph is also very brief and its ideas are not fully joined. Use clearer referencing and make the conclusion synthesise your reasons rather than simply restating them.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “foundational human right,” “low-income families,” “financial burden,” and “water infrastructure.” These choices show an attempt to discuss the issue beyond basic terms. However, several inaccurate or unnatural expressions make the wording less clear, such as “most important parameter,” “make it easily to access,” and “wasteful usage of money.” There is also repetition of “water” and “accessing” without much variation. Aim for more natural collocations and precise word forms, such as “essential resource,” “ensure easy access,” and “waste water.” This would make your argument clearer and more fluent while retaining the relevant topic vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional idea in “if even water taxes are not that much, but it would help them…” and a concession beginning “Although.” However, these structures are often faulty, and errors sometimes make the intended relationship difficult to follow. Examples include “accessing it considered” and “should provided,” which need auxiliary verbs, as well as “This lead,” where the subject–verb form is incorrect. The conditional sentence combines incompatible structures, while the final sentence beginning “Although” is incomplete. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent. Practise forming complete clauses and checking verb forms, agreement, and sentence boundaries; then use complex structures only when their relationships are clear.
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