Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19

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)

The present ongoing debate disscuss two opinions, where some people believe that accepting a bad situtation such as scarcity of money or undersirable job should be accepted without trying any further and improving yourself. In contrast, others argue that working hard and improving yourself is a good and a positive approach for a bad situtation. In my opinion, it is always better to try again along with improving yourself rather than giving up in an unfortunate circumtance.

One may argue that putting efforts to improve your poor financial condition will not provide positive outcome due to external factors which are beyond in their hands. For example, impatient people, in professional world, tend to give up on working hard if they do not receive instant result in terms of money or designation for their work performance and they accept the situation as it is.

Conversly, there are people who will always try to do better in their life and refuse to give up in a dissapointed situation. These poeple have one thing clear in thier mind which is, the mentality of never giving and improving yourself, leading to a better life in terms of money and work satisfaction. For instance, good leaders, in any professional field, always try to resolve the bad circumtance by enhancing themselves.

In my opinion, while for some people it is easy to accept the disspointed situation without putting repeated efforts, it is better to enhance yourself and try really hard to improve any bad situtation. For example, one of my friend was stuck in a bad company on very low income. However, he learned extra courses to improve his portfolio and recently, he got a better paying job.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it—and clearly presents the writer's own opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are relevant, such as the discussion of financial struggles, professional impatience, and self-enhancement through learning extra courses. However, the development of ideas tends to be slightly repetitive and brief, preventing it from reaching the higher band levels where ideas are more fully and deeply extended. For instance, the example about the friend is helpful but lacks broader analytical depth. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout, satisfying the core requirements for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 6.0 due to the slight under-development of supporting arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each body paragraph dedicated to a distinct viewpoint or example. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'In contrast', 'One may argue', 'Conversly', and 'In my opinion'. However, some cohesive links and referencing are occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, and spelling mistakes in transitional markers ('Conversly') detract slightly from fluency. Overall, the logical structure is clear enough to guide the reader effortlessly through the text, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'scarcity', 'undesirable', 'professional field', and 'portfolio'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors throughout the text, including 'disscuss' instead of discuss, 'situtation' instead of situation, 'undersirable' instead of undesirable, 'circumtance' instead of circumstance, 'Conversly' instead of conversely, 'dissapointed' instead of disappointed, 'thier' instead of their, and 'disspointed' instead of disappointed. These lexical errors and occasional awkward word choices indicate a lack of precision, capping the lexical score at a solid Band 5.5, as the errors do not severely impede communication but are frequent enough to prevent reaching Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause sentences, such as 'In my opinion, while for some people it is easy to accept the disspointed situation without putting repeated efforts, it is better to enhance yourself...' There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'disscuss two opinions, where some people believe...', 'scarcity of money or undersirable job should be accepted', and 'beyond in their hands'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors in grammar do occur, they rarely impede overall communication. This mix of structures and frequency of non-systematic errors places the performance firmly in the Band 6.0 category.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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