Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14
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)
Every coin has two sides. In this contemporary era, everyone face difficult situations in their professional and personal life. Some people believe that accept a bad sitiation is the best option, while it is argued that people should give effort to improve their bad circumstances.
On the one hand, accepting an undesirable situation can sometimes be a the best pragmatic solution. Not every problem can be solve at a time; It takes to sometimes. Solving problem immediately may cause unnecessary stress or anxiety. For example, someone facing financial crisis may have to accept a situation and according to changes living life. Similarly, an employee who cannot immediately find better job, but continue working in an unsatisfactory position with gaining experience and searching for alternative opportunities. Accepting these types of situation can provide emotional and financial stabilty.
On the other hand, accepting a bad situation, could not improve bad circumstance. Therefore, putting efforts and try to enhanced difficult situations. Burn the midnight oil and uphill task helps individual overcome obstacles, improve problem solving skill and build experience to tackle any difficulties. Similarly, someone facing a shortage of money could develop additional sources of income or improve their qualifications, so increase monetary value. For instance, many graduates take professional courses while working and gaining experiences.
To recapitulate, although sometime accepting a bad situation could be beneficial, it would provise emotional stability and give a time for making some strategies I believe trying to improve situation such as unsatisfactory job or shortage of money, can helpful for long term visions.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it—and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported with explanations and examples, such as mentioning financial crises, employees, and graduates taking professional courses. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed due to awkward phrasing and limited expansion, which places the response securely at Band 6. The position is clear throughout, and the main arguments are easily identifiable, fulfilling the key requirements for this band level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct views. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are employed to guide the reader through the argument. However, referencing and logical progression are occasionally faulty, as seen in abrupt transitions and mechanical links like 'Therefore, putting efforts and try to enhanced difficult situations.' This demonstrates a Band 6 level of coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and phrases such as 'contemporary era', 'pragmatic solution', and 'emotional and financial stabilty'. However, there are numerous word choice, form, and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'everyone face' instead of 'faces', 'accept' instead of 'accepting', 'sitiation' instead of 'situation', 'solve' instead of 'solved', and 'stabilty'. These errors indicate a Band 5 in lexical resource, as the vocabulary is minimally adequate but noticeable errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating clauses and conditional ideas. However, frequent grammatical and punctuation errors occur throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('everyone face', 'problem solving skill'), incorrect verb forms ('trying to enhanced'), and run-on sentences ('Not every problem can be solve at a time; It takes to sometimes.'). While communication is generally maintained, the frequency of grammatical inaccuracies prevents the response from achieving a higher band. These characteristics align well with the Band 5 descriptors.
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.