Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-04

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. Others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

People has different opinions about how to deal with situations in the life. Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, for instance an unsatisfactory job or lack in financially, however other think that you should continue try and improve such situations.

On the one hand, several people are suffering from multiple difficulties where they can not leave their jobs. The middle class and lower class people has responsibilities like family where they can no take risk of changing new job or starting new career. In addition, in this contemporary time of competition and unemployment you can not get job which you desired. In such case accepting the reality can reduce stress and help people to focus rather than thinking of bad situation.

On the other hand, other people says that it is mandatory to seek for new opportunity for your life. If people can continue in adding efforts in there skills and work harder can help them in career growth and financial stability. For example, a prominent cricketer M.S. Dhoni who never giveup in his skill and did hard work despite for multiple hurdle. People should wait for right time and movement when they can have opportunity for there skills and gaining practical knowledge can help help in growth.

In conclusion, while accepting the difficult situations can make person strong and stable with mind, however I believe that it is important to seeking new job or financial improvment can get by experience which led long term happiness.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding accepting a bad situation is supported by the mention of family responsibilities, but the explanation remains superficial. Similarly, the second paragraph introduces a relevant example (M.S. Dhoni), but the connection between his specific career path and the general advice to 'improve situations' could be more explicitly linked to the prompt's focus on financial or job-related dissatisfaction. The ideas are relevant, but they lack the depth required for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'In such case' or 'In this contemporary time'. Furthermore, there are instances where the flow is interrupted by grammatical errors, such as the concluding sentence which lacks a smooth transition between the two clauses. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, but the use of cohesive devices is not always sophisticated or entirely accurate.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing or incorrect word choices, such as 'lack in financially' instead of 'financial hardship', and 'continue in adding efforts in there skills' instead of 'continue to invest in their skills'. The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the frequent errors in collocation and word form (e.g., 'improvment', 'there' instead of 'their') limit the range and accuracy. To improve, the student should focus on learning common collocations and ensuring correct word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there is a high frequency of grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('People has', 'other people says'), incorrect preposition usage, and confusion between 'there' and 'their'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent and occur in almost every sentence. The student attempts complex structures, but they are often marred by errors, which prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. A focus on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for common slips is essential.

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

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