Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Few people stay in the way that it is best to just accept a bad situation in life, such as a shortage of money. Other people completely believe in the opposite, and argue that it is better to try and improve the situations. In this essay, I will discuss both of these ways, and will give the facts about why the second opinion is better.

Firstly, just accepting the situation without any attempts to correct something is the easiest way to run away from problems. Just running without any attempts, and regrets start becoming a habit, and over time people become lazy without any purpose in life, believing that their problems will disappear without their actions. That laziness is just killing the motivation in humans to make their lives better.

On the other hand, people who try to improve the situation, no matter how hard it is, become strong, and that motivation and conviction to overcome problems raises the personality in them. For example, many popular athletes in different categories of sport have faced a significant amount of bad situations in their lives. Lionel Messi was born in Argentina, and grew up in a working-type family without any richness or opportunities, but over time he overcame the problems and found his own path in football.

Overall, in my opinion, it is better to try something even if it does not work, than to accept the situation and stay still without any worries, believing that someone else will solve your problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on accepting versus improving difficult situations and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are extended, particularly in the body paragraphs where you contrast resignation with active perseverance. For instance, the discussion on avoiding problems by simply accepting them ('the easiest way to run away from problems') captures the essence of the first view well. However, the development remains somewhat general, and the example of Lionel Messi, while relevant, is brief and lacks deeper contextual integration. To reach a higher band, the arguments could be supported with more nuanced explanations or a wider range of examples to fully develop the ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression and is divided into logical paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts in logic, such as 'Firstly' and 'On the other hand', which helps the reader navigate the text. However, referencing and cohesive links can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent repetition of 'attempts' and 'problems'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would elevate the overall cohesion of the essay.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating phrases such as 'unsatisfactory job', 'shortage of money', and 'conviction to overcome problems'. There are some attempts to use less common vocabulary, but word choice is occasionally unnatural or imprecise, such as writing 'stay in the way that it is best' instead of 'state' or 'argue', and 'working-type family' instead of 'working-class family'. Additionally, minor lexical errors and awkward collocations occur, but they do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily follow your arguments throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating your ability to construct multi-clause sentences like 'In this essay, I will discuss both of these ways, and will give the facts about why the second opinion is better.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'stay in the way' and 'raises the personality in them', which affect accuracy. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors do occur, they are not severe enough to impede communication, with a reasonable proportion of error-free sentences present.

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