Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-30

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)

In contemporary era, many individuals think that it is best to accept a bad financial situation, such as an unsatisfactory job and lack of money, However, others people argue that it is better to try and improve their poor condition. This essay will discuss both views before presenting my own opinion.

On the one hand, these days people are suffering lack of high paid jobs and money. This is because they do not have sufficient money to fulfil their family expectations. Therefore, they cannot provide good education exposure to their children because they cannot afford expensive schools. As a result, they cannot improve their financial condition in the future. Therefore, they should try to become a rich and improve their bad situation. Furthermore, if people take chance and work hard regularly they will definitely achieve success. To illustrate, Elon Musk and Bill Gates richest person in the world. They do not belong strong and rich family background, but they become a successful person because they never give up and always tried to achieved their goals.

On the other hand, sometimes people do not get high-paying and they do not enough money, therefore they do not do in their life because they frustrate to their job. Furthermore, many people try to improve their financial condition, but unfortunately they do not have enough money to start their business and fulfil their personal expectations and dreams.

To conclude, people want try to start their business and generate good income, but they have fair because they think that they do not have money to take a risk. In my opinion individuals should try and improve their family conditions.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. The first body paragraph attempts to support the idea of improving one's situation using examples like Elon Musk, but the logic is somewhat disjointed. The second body paragraph is underdeveloped and lacks clarity; the argument regarding why people fail to improve their situation is repetitive and does not fully explore the 'accepting a bad situation' perspective. While the task is addressed, the ideas lack the depth and logical extension required for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'Therefore, they should try to become a rich' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the subject of 'they' becomes ambiguous. While there is an overall progression, the logical links between sentences are frequently strained, making the argument feel somewhat disjointed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision needed for a higher score. There is frequent repetition of basic terms like 'money', 'improve', and 'situation'. Some word choices are imprecise or incorrect, such as 'provide good education exposure' and 'they have fair' (likely meaning 'fear'). The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the lack of control over collocations and word forms limits the effectiveness of the communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are attempts at complex sentences, they are often marred by grammatical errors, such as 'others people argue' and 'they do not do in their life because they frustrate to their job'. Subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent throughout the text. Punctuation is also problematic, with comma splices occurring in the introduction and body paragraphs. These errors occur frequently and occasionally impede the reader's understanding of the intended meaning.

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.