Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-13

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 6.0)

It is argued that it is best to accept unsatisfactory job or shortage of money rather than being unemployed. Others believe that it is better to try and improve such situation. I strongly believe that it is better to improve such situation. This essay will discuss the reasons for accepting unsuitable jobs and the possible ways of enhancing such circumstances.

One the one hand, survival motive is one of the major reasons individuals accept unwanted jobs. Most people accept unsatisfactory employment because that is the only way for them to survive and acquire basic services such as rent and electricity bills. For instances, maximum proportion of immigrant depends on hospitality or cleaning jobs for them to satisfy or purchase their basic needs. In addition, inadequate employment is another important factor that prevent residents from leaving unsatisfied jobs. In most countries the level of employment are very low which makes it difficult for a resident to leave their current job. As a result of this most people are stuck in their current occupations.

On the other hand, there are several ways of improving this situation which include creation of more employment opportunities by the government. If there are adequate occupation in a country residents will have variety of jobs to pick from. As this may lead to the reduction of unsatisfied occupation in the country. Furthermore, acquiring knowledge about the skill in demand is another way people can move from their unwanted jobs. Learning more skills which employers cherish are some of the ways to more from low paying jobs to high earning jobs. For example, technological skills such as cyber security and data analysis are some of the most significant skill in demand in most countries engaging in those activities, may increase employment opportunities and and high earning occupations.

In conclusion, survival motive and lack of employment are the reason most people accept unsuitable and low earning jobs. While adequate employment opportunities by the government and learning skills in demand are the ways of improving it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it—and clearly states the writer's own opinion in the introduction. The ideas are generally relevant, but some parts are slightly under-developed. For instance, the discussion on why people accept bad jobs touches on survival motives and low employment levels, but the explanation lacks specific, fully elaborated examples, relying on generalisations like 'maximum proportion of immigrant depends on hospitality'. Furthermore, while the prompt asks to discuss both views and give an opinion, the second body paragraph shifts slightly into discussing government solutions to unemployment rather than just the individual's choice to improve their situation, though it remains broadly relevant. Overall, the task is adequately fulfilled, corresponding to a Band 6.5 or solid 6 descriptor level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement and follows a logical progression, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs representing each view, and concluding with a summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'One the one hand' contains a grammatical error, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'engaging in those activities, may increase employment opportunities and and high earning occupations.' Cohesive devices are employed, but they are sometimes repetitive or overused, and the linkage between sentences could be smoother. These issues place the response firmly in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'survival motive', 'inadequate employment', 'cyber security', and 'data analysis'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word forms. Examples include 'accept unsatisfactory job' (missing an article), 'such situation' instead of 'such situations', 'maximum proportion of immigrant' (should be plural 'immigrants' and requires 'the'), and 'unsatisfied occupation' instead of 'unsuitable jobs'. There is also a repetition of terms like 'employment opportunities' and 'unsatisfied/unwanted jobs'. These lexical errors do not impede communication, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over clause structures with conditional sentences ('If there are adequate occupation...') and relative clauses. However, there is a noticeable frequency of grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('level of employment are', 'skill in demand... are'), missing plural forms ('occupations'/'occupation'), missing articles ('accept unsatisfactory job', 'shortage of money'), and typographical errors like 'more from low paying jobs' (instead of 'move') and the double conjunction 'and and high earning occupations'. While these errors do not impede overall comprehension, they prevent the score from reaching Band 7.

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