Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05
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)
Having a detrimental phase is a part of human being's daily life and accepting such situations can help overcome stress. It is often said by a few people that individuals should accept such situations, such as doing job that they dislike of being financially unstable. While other argues that it is best to work on it and try to overcome such situations. This essay will discuss both these point of views before giving my personal opinion in the conclusion.
On the one side of the coin, accepting an unpleasant situation can be beneficial in certain circumstances. Not everyone is grateful to have satisfactory work of financial stability and due to the fact that they do such jobs in order to fulfil their families need and wants rather than thinking of having interests in the work they do. For instance, a person supporting his family may have no choice to leave but continue to work in that space in order to fulfil the dreams.
On the other side of the coin, other believe that trying different opportunities can help an individual to overcome such situations rather than remain dissatisfied. Making continues efforts, adapting varied skills, learning new opportunities, applying for various jobs can help an individual to compete such situations. To exemplify, people try to apply different jobs at various places in order to search for their filed of interests and also would help them to look for work which would satisfy and improve one's quality of life.
In conclusion, I believe that though such setbacks are necessary for better comeback, I think that people should treat different situations as a part of opportunities to learn and improve.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both views and provides a personal opinion, meeting the requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention the need to support a family as a reason for accepting a bad situation, the explanation is brief. Similarly, the argument for improving one's situation is a bit repetitive, focusing on 'applying for jobs' without exploring deeper strategies or long-term benefits. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are more specific and that your arguments are fully extended to demonstrate a deeper analysis of the topic.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. You use standard cohesive devices such as 'On the one side of the coin' and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are instances where the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the general statement about financial stability and the specific example of supporting a family could be more tightly linked. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, but the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and natural.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'detrimental phase', 'financially unstable', and 'setbacks'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation that slightly hinder precision. For instance, 'compete such situations' is not a standard collocation, and 'doing job that they dislike of being' contains grammatical errors that affect the clarity of the vocabulary. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and ensuring that your word choices are contextually appropriate. Expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary would also help elevate your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt to use complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'human being's daily life', 'other argues', and 'compete such situations'. Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Proofreading for these common slips will help you achieve a more consistent level of accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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