Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-19
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)
Many believe that accepting a bad situation like job dissatisfaction or money shortage is better as attempt of improvement sometimes lead to failure, while others believe people should constantly try to challenge unsatisfactory situations. I firmly believe we should try to do better as except trying there is no possibility of improvement at all.
On the one hand, it is true that trying endlessly to improve a certain situation comes with the risk of failure. If someone is not good at a certain task but keeps performing on same weak areas that might degrade his overall position. A classic example would be, some students who failed an exam apply to recheck their scores to the authority and mostly ends up receiving lower score than before. This happens due to wasting effort in areas where there are lower chances of improvement as the best solution would be studying attentively for the upcoming exam.
On the other hand, I think effort is essential for improving any kind of situation as there will be no scope of success otherwise. The key is to recognize the weakness of oneself and then working on the same area to get better. Moreover, without failing there will be no motivation of retry. For instance, most of the business that are successful today suffered loss in the first attempt, this experience created the opportunity of knowing weakness and recognition eventually.
In conclusion, risk of failure can be a potential reason to accept a bad situation like financial crisis or dissatisfaction in job but I think without any attempt there would be no possibility of improvement as well.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are relevant, such as the risk of failure versus the necessity of effort for growth. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. The example regarding students rechecking exam scores is slightly tangential and does not fully illustrate the broader concept of 'accepting a bad situation' versus 'improving it.' To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced examples and ensure that the link between your examples and the prompt is more explicit and logically sound.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Moreover' to signal transitions between ideas. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally mechanical. For instance, the transition between the idea of business failure and the conclusion could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'working on the same area,' which could be more precisely phrased. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, but the use of cohesive devices could be more sophisticated and varied to improve the flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'dissatisfaction,' 'constantly,' and 'potential.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'attempt of improvement' (should be 'attempts at improvement') and 'mostly ends up receiving' (should be 'mostly end up receiving'). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more academic, less common lexical items to express your ideas with greater nuance and sophistication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of the writing. Examples include 'as attempt of improvement sometimes lead to failure' (subject-verb agreement error), 'some students... mostly ends up' (subject-verb agreement), and 'most of the business that are successful' (pluralization error). These errors occur throughout the text. While they do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more consistent control over basic grammatical rules, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement and plural forms.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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