Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26

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)

The growing influence of bad situations or improving situation in modern society has sparked various debates. Some individuals argue that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory jab or shortage of money. Others believe that it is better to try and improve such situation. In this essay, I will discuss both views and give my opinion with some suitable examples.

On the one hand, the first main benefit of bad situation the public feel less stress from the new work. When people work on the same place, they do not overthink about other jobs and they feel relax. This is also evident from fact that sometimes people do not change job because company offer the new job outside city. As show various studies, some generation belong to poor families, and they do not give the extra money for promoting job therefore they manage financial problems with the limited money and survive in the life.

On the other hand, the first key advantage of improving job people learn the new skills. Some individuals want to learn the new thing, so they always try for new work. Mostly companies pay the small amount of money which do not enough for managing financial issues, however other companies sending the large money on the same skill. For example, mostly student after completing the final degree they moved on foreign country because other countries offer the better jobs and give suitable money which everyone easily manage all things such as family and their own expenditures.

In conclusion, 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 best to try and improve such situation. I believe that it is better to try new job and learn the new thing.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is limited. For instance, the argument for accepting a bad situation is somewhat unclear, as the link between 'not overthinking' and 'feeling relaxed' is not fully explained. Similarly, the points regarding financial management and job changes are underdeveloped and lack logical depth. While the prompt is addressed, the supporting arguments are often repetitive and lack specific, well-integrated examples, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The position is clear, but the supporting evidence needs more elaboration to be fully convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical and sometimes inaccurate. For example, the transition 'As show various studies' is grammatically awkward and does not effectively link the ideas. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'the first key advantage of improving job people learn the new skills,' where the connection between the subject and the benefit is disjointed. While there is an overall progression, the lack of sophisticated linking words and the repetitive sentence structure make the flow feel somewhat stilted.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'promoting job,' 'sending the large money,' and 'manage all things.' The student relies on basic vocabulary and repeats phrases like 'bad situation' and 'new job' frequently. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition and demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary. The errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the sophistication of the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include missing articles ('on the same place,' 'in the life'), incorrect verb forms ('mostly student... they moved'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('companies pay... which do not enough'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the frequency of errors in basic grammar structures is noticeable. While the meaning is usually clear, the lack of control over complex sentence construction prevents the essay from demonstrating the accuracy required for a higher band score.

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.