Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22
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)
Job and money always provide comfort to fulfil the necessities. Some people believe that accepting a difficult condition, either unhappy employment or financial problem, is the best option. While others believe that trying to improve the situation would be better. This essay will cover both views, and I will also share my perspective on this.
Regarding accepting the bad situation, people do not try to get rid of this situation because of their comfort zone such as local city, family, seniority or language barrier. For instance, some countries have remarkable salaries for sale jobs such as the USA, Hong Kong and the UK. In this way, sales managers in Pakistan earn comparatively lowest monthly income. Such people accept this situation because they do not try to learn required language, regardless, they are working with lower income and believe that this is their best decision.
Contrary, others believe that financial problems or unhappiness at jobs can be improved by switching job where they would have comfort or improvement in salary by learning new language and move to another country. One of the prime examples is immigration from South Asia to America. South Asians learn new skills such Python, C++ including English language and move to America, where they join giant companies e.g. Microsoft, Google or Amazon, with high salary to get rid of financial problems.
In conclusion, people have their preferences to live in the same conditions by not choosing to language learning. While the other people break this comfort zone by taking step towards skills improvement.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| 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 difficult situation versus trying to improve it—and states the author's own perspective in the introduction. The ideas are generally relevant, such as discussing comfort zones like family or language barriers versus skill acquisition and relocation. However, the development of the ideas is somewhat limited and the supporting examples are occasionally unclear or over-generalized, such as the claim regarding sales managers in Pakistan earning the lowest income. Additionally, the conclusion lacks the author's final opinion as promised in the introduction. These limitations place the performance at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into a clear four-paragraph structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts between paragraphs, such as 'Regarding accepting the bad situation,' 'Contrary, others believe,' and 'In conclusion.' However, referencing and transitions are sometimes mechanical or awkward, as seen with 'Contrary, others believe' instead of 'In contrast.' Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the logical progression within the second body paragraph is slightly disjointed, leading to a Band 6.0 score for Coherence and Cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'comfort zone,' 'language barrier,' and 'skill improvement.' However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, including 'fulfil the necessities,' 'unhappy employment,' 'sale jobs,' and 'choosing to language learning.' Spelling and word choice errors are present, but they do not impede overall communication. These factors align closely with the descriptors for Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional-like structures such as 'switching job where they would have comfort' and 'South Asians learn new skills such Python, C++ including English language and move to America.' However, there are frequent grammatical inaccuracies, such as missing articles ('switch job,' 'with high salary'), preposition errors ('earn comparatively lowest monthly income'), and minor punctuation issues. Despite these errors, the meaning remains comprehensible, supporting a Band 5.5 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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