Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-10
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 have different views about whether it is best to experience a bad situation such as a less job satisfaction or sortage of money or whether it would be better to try and enhance such situations. While experiencing bad situation in life has a positivie consequence in life, I believe that people should try to improve their bad situations to good situations.
There are a variety of reasons why people believe that accepting the bad situations like an unsatisfactory job and sortage of money, are essensial in their life. One of the main reasons is that they can understand harsh realities of life. By experiencing such situation, they not only concentrate their work properly but also try to learn different life skills such as money managament and pantuality, enabling them to cope up with their office environment and lead a meaningful life.
Despite the arguments mentioned above , some people believe that people should take some steps to improve their bad situations. Firstly, If people face the situation in their offices, they should understand it carefully and take a necessary step like changing job where they would find better work environment, job security and better salary. These would assit them to keep fit in mentally and physically. For example, When a enginner gets a less salary in a company despite of having a good qualification, they may shift to an another organization for high wages and better work environment. The money he earns can use in his different purposes economically. Therefore, people should try to improve their difficult situations to good situation for their their everyday life.
In conclusion, although people argue that a bad situation can be accepted for many reasons, I contend that it is best to try improve such situation as soon as possible.
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 sides of the argument and provides a clear personal position. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of 'harsh realities' for the first view and 'job security' for the second. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of why one might accept a bad situation is a bit generic, and the example of the engineer is helpful but could be more deeply explored to fully support the argument. The response covers all parts of the prompt, but the depth of analysis is consistent with a Band 6.0, as some points remain slightly under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One of the main reasons', 'Despite the arguments mentioned above', and 'Therefore'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'cope up with' or the repetitive phrasing in the conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the transition between the two viewpoints could be smoother to improve the overall flow of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'harsh realities', 'job security', and 'work environment'. However, there are several spelling errors ('sortage', 'essensial', 'managamant', 'pantuality', 'assit') and some awkward collocations ('less job satisfaction', 'keep fit in mentally'). These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a limitation in range and precision, placing the response in the Band 6.0 category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'a less job satisfaction', 'experiencing such situation', 'When a enginner gets a less salary', and 'The money he earns can use in his different purposes'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While the student attempts complex sentences, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and article usage prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. The errors are noticeable but do not cause significant difficulty for the reader.
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.