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)
It is often argued by people that best thing to do is to accept the bad situation like unsatisfactory job or fund shortage, while others say that working hard and improving is the best way to overcome this situation. This essay will discuss both views before explaining why i lean towards this latter.
To begin with, individuals who are believing on accepting the bad situation is the best way, are usually satisfied in what they have. It is mainly to reduce the stress and anxiety because acceptance help people to stay calm and emotionally available. To epitome, by accepting one can give more time to their family and friends rather than thinking about the problems and increasing the stress which can also lead to health issues.
On the other hand, individuals who are stubborn and want to achieve better life for themselves and for their family generally believe that improving their skills by working in an unsatisfactory job with less money can help them. For instance, in the current job market freshers are not given any significance so they have to join an organization with lower salary which may not be good for them but by working hard, on improving skills and gaining experience can eventually help them to lead a better life. So, in my opinion working hard is a better choice for one's life and for their families future because it gives an opportunity to solve problems regarding the job and for shortage of funds.
In conclusion, although accepting the situation is the best way to avoid stress and anxiety ,I am of the opinion that working hard is the best solution.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on accepting bad situations versus trying to improve them, and presents a clear personal position throughout the essay. The main ideas are relevant and generally supported with explanations and examples, such as the discussion of freshers entering the job market. However, some arguments lack full depth, particularly regarding the psychological perspective of acceptance, which tends to over-generalise slightly. Despite minor underdeveloped points, the overall position is well-maintained and directly answers the prompt requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation, with distinct paragraphs introducing the views, body arguments, and conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are utilised to structure the response effectively. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'individuals who' and 'the best way', which affects the natural flow of the text. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct thematic ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'unsatisfactory', 'significance', and 'organization'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'fund shortage' instead of 'shortage of funds', 'are believing on' instead of 'believe in', and 'To epitome' instead of 'To epitomize' or 'For example'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level where vocabulary control is occasionally faulty.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate conjunctions. There are, however, several recurring grammatical and punctuation errors. For instance, there are tense and aspect errors like 'individuals who are believing', prepositional mistakes such as 'increasing the stress which can also lead', and punctuation slips including a missing space before a comma in the final sentence ('anxiety ,I'). Complex structures are frequently flawed, placing the grammar firmly in the Band 6 category where errors persist but do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message.
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