Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-15

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)

There has long been debate over whether it is good 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. Advocates of this perspective maintains that accepting mistakes in a bad time is a good thing to grow and proceed. If people accept that they have no satisfactory job, it gives them a chance to make progress. Companies can check their qualification and offer them a job that contains high salaries and many important facilities such as free medical treatment, free housing. Conversely, critics argue that people must accept they have shortage of money. If they accept bad situations, governments offer them a lot of jobs, support them with many facilities. These facilities help them to maintain their home expenses, and they can also send their children in a government school. While both perspectives have merit, I am inclined to believe that accepting a bad situation give us a chance to grow ourselves. It also gives us opportunity to communicate with each other. We can get jobs by telling people about their bad situations. Having weighed both perspectives, ultimately, the former viewpoint appears more convincing is that it is better to try and improve our mistakes rather than ignoring them. If we try to improve our mistakes, we get a lot of knowledge how can we overcome on mistakes. It also improves our skills and helps us to get a chance to stand in our life in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument, but the development of ideas is inconsistent and often confusing. For instance, the argument regarding government support for those who accept a 'shortage of money' is underdeveloped and lacks logical clarity. Furthermore, the essay suffers from a significant contradiction: the introduction and body paragraphs suggest that accepting a bad situation is beneficial, but the conclusion suddenly shifts to argue that 'it is better to try and improve our mistakes.' This lack of a clear, consistent position throughout the essay makes it difficult for the reader to follow your stance, which is a requirement for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression between ideas is weak. Transitions are often mechanical or misused, such as the abrupt shift in the conclusion. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes repetitive, which hinders the flow of the argument. For example, the transition 'Conversely' is used to introduce a point that does not logically contrast with the previous paragraph. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas within and between paragraphs are linked more naturally to support your central thesis.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on simple, repetitive phrasing like 'bad situation' and 'good thing.' There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'contains high salaries' (should be 'offers high salaries') and 'stand in our life' (which is non-idiomatic). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'financial hardship,' 'professional development,' or 'proactive measures,' and focus on using words in their correct collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Advocates... maintains,' 'situation give us'), incorrect preposition usage ('overcome on mistakes'), and awkward phrasing ('send their children in a government school'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed with correct grammatical markers.

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

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