Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-19

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)

It is widely argued that clean water is basic human necessity and government should provide this facility free of cost but in my perspective clean water should not be provided free because cleaning water takes big infrastructure.

In many country water is provides everywhere is absolutely free because they want to avoid disease. dirty water contain different kinds of bacteria and other dangerous germs which are very harmful for humans to overcome these disease many countries starts program to provide clean water free of cost .

On the other hand cleaning water takes labor of many workers and need big filtration plants and also costs energy to run these power plants if it is not charged by residents it would be on government which cause financial unstable in particular country.

Also water needs to be reach at every home via one way or another way .Not only filtration of water but also maintaining the pipelines and water tankers constantly need financial support which effects government so in my point of view government should charge some fee of cleaning water from every household. If people pays for what they are using there should be less wastage of water. in most of areas people waste what they are getting for free.

Overall, clean water is basic human need to keep themselves healthy and safe from diseases and cleaning water cost enormous amount of money if not charged by people it will be on the government which effects them so they should the cost to the consumers

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you disagree with free household water, mainly because treatment and delivery require substantial funding. You also recognise the opposing concern that clean water prevents disease, so the response addresses both sides of the question. The explanation of filtration plants, energy, pipelines and maintenance is relevant, but several points are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, you say charging residents would reduce waste, but do not show how fees could be set without preventing poorer households from accessing a basic necessity. The conclusion repeats the cost argument rather than resolving this tension. Develop the affordability issue and support your claims with a specific example to make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph acknowledging the health argument, a paragraph presenting costs and waste, and a concluding summary. Connectors such as “On the other hand” and “Overall” help signal the direction of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several points are joined together, and the relationship between free access, government costs and household charges is not always made explicit. The opening paragraph also combines the topic and your position in one long sentence. Use clearer paragraph focus and divide linked but distinct ideas into separate sentences. More precise referencing and transitions would make the argument easier to follow without relying mainly on basic signposts.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “filtration plants,” “pipelines,” “bacteria,” “financial support” and “wastage,” which helps communicate the main ideas. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate, occasionally making the meaning less clear. Examples include “cleaning water” where “treating water” is intended, “financial unstable,” and “effects government” for the impact on government finances. There are also spelling and form errors such as “disease” where a plural is needed and “provides” in “water is provides.” Aim to use a smaller set of precise water-policy terms accurately, and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “if it is not charged by residents it would be on government” and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries sometimes make the reader work to understand the point. For instance, “water is provides” has an incorrect verb form, while “people pays” does not agree in number. Several sentences run together, particularly the opening and the final paragraph, and punctuation around clauses is often missing. Practise building accurate complex sentences with clear clause boundaries, and proofread specifically for subject–verb agreement, articles and verb forms.

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.