Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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)

I strongly disagree with the opinion of some people that bad situations should be accepted at work even unsatisfactory job and shortage of money. I believe that one should try to improve such circumstances, because work plays a significant roll in our life. Job satisfaction and salary both are important, one can achieve it by working on skills development, networking and encouragement.

People who believe that sticking to a one job for whole life or a long period of time is more important than work environment and wadges are somehow practical and facing some budget pressure, family responsibility, old parents' medical bills and kids schooling, house rents and groceries. All of these situations make them feel burdenised. They prefer job security rather than job satisfaction. Old people are more persevarent towards their jobs than young people.

To my understanding, to handle such situations one should save some amount for rainy days and keep moving farward. Doing full time job in a toxic environment with low salary is not good for mental health. One can find out more oppertuneities by improving skills and learning networking online and onsite. The best way is to aim high and never lose hope to get a better chance in life. Developing skills and learning new ways pay you back if you never give up on yourself.

To conclude, never put your all eggs in one basket. Keep learning and seeking work satisfaction is crucial. We should do what we love to do, this achieves high performance and mental peace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention reasons for accepting bad situations, such as 'budget pressure' and 'family responsibility', these points are listed rather than fully explored. The discussion on improving situations is also brief. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your arguments with more detailed explanations or specific examples. For instance, instead of just listing 'skills development', you could explain how acquiring a specific certification or soft skill directly leads to better employment prospects. The position is consistent, but the depth of analysis needs to be increased to fully satisfy the requirements of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally repetitive. For example, the transition between sentences could be smoother; you rely heavily on simple sentence structures rather than linking ideas with complex cohesive markers. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in contrast') to better connect your arguments and evidence, which would help the flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several spelling errors and word-choice inaccuracies that detract from the quality of the writing. Examples include 'roll' instead of 'role', 'wadges' instead of 'wages', 'burdenised' (non-standard), 'persevarent' (misspelled), and 'oppertuneities' (misspelled). While the meaning remains clear, these errors indicate a lack of control over spelling and precise word usage. To improve, focus on using more academic vocabulary and ensure you proofread for common spelling mistakes. Using more precise collocations, such as 'financial constraints' instead of 'budget pressure', would also enhance your lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'sticking to a one job' (article error), 'both are important, one can achieve it' (comma splice), and 'never put your all eggs in one basket' (idiomatic error). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency. To achieve a higher band, you should aim for more error-free sentences and work on complex structures like conditional sentences or relative clauses, ensuring that subject-verb agreement and article usage are accurate.

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

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