Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-30

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)

With increasing stress levels due to demanding working hours and higher day-to-day expenses, it is getting hard to maintain a good work-life balance.

Thus, some people believe that accepting a bad situation, like insufficient finances to run your life smoothly or an unsatisfactory job, as your fate makes your life easy; others contradicts with the argument that finding a solution is a better way.

To begin with, life is getting harder with increased financial strain due to lower income rates in comparison to average expenditure to maintain a decent lifestyle. People work day and night to make some extra money, but slowly their professional and personal life boundaries are fading, with the expectation of answering calls after work hour is new work ethic. Immigrants came abroad with the hope of a better life for themselves and their families, instead, they end up getting trapped in a loop of work. They accept it as a hurdle without realising their lives have changed, and they are studying and working together to make the best of it. People working multiple jobs are very common nowadays without thinking much about their satisfaction, as they are believers in finding solutions rather than worrying about it

On the other hand, I have seen people who procrastinate on everything, and when something bad happens, they blame others for their actions. For instance, a beggar who chooses to beg people to make his living, while God grants him good health; thus, instead of working, he finds an easy way out by accepting it as his destiny.

In conclusion, I support people who work hard instead of giving up and b

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt only partially, which accounts for the score given. While the essay touches on both sides of the argument—accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it—the student's position is somewhat unclear and oscillates during the development. For instance, the second paragraph starts by discussing people accepting their fate as immigrants, but then confusingly concludes that they are 'believers in finding solutions.' Furthermore, the arguments presented are limited and under-developed, relying on sweeping generalisations rather than fully extended ideas or specific, relevant examples. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to clearly state and maintain a distinct position throughout the essay, while fully developing both views with well-supported explanations and clear examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The essay displays some organisation, but it lacks a clear overall progression and logical flow. While basic linking phrases like 'To begin with' and 'On the other hand' are employed, paragraphing and referencing issues disrupt the structure. The body paragraphs contain a mixture of ideas that are not always logically sequenced, and the abrupt cut-off at the end ('giving up and b') heavily impacts the structural cohesion of the conclusion. Pronoun referencing is occasionally unclear, making it hard for the reader to follow the exact line of thought. To improve, the writer should ensure each paragraph has a single clear central topic, use cohesive devices more accurately without mechanical repetition, and logically connect sentences to maintain a smooth progression of ideas from introduction to conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task and demonstrates an attempt to use less common items, such as 'work-life balance', 'financial strain', and 'procrastinate'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'lower income rates in comparison to average expenditure' and 'others contradicts with the argument', which slightly impede natural expression. The range is somewhat limited, leading to occasional repetition of key ideas and vocabulary. To achieve a higher score, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of precise lexical items and idiomatic phrases, paying closer attention to word formation and collocation to convey meaning with greater style and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response relies on a limited range of grammatical structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to errors that can cause some difficulty for the reader. For example, sentences such as 'others contradicts with the argument that finding a solution is a better way' contain subject-verb agreement and prepositional errors. There are also punctuation and phrasing issues across the text, and the incomplete ending demonstrates a lack of control over complex sentence completion. To improve, the writer should focus on increasing the variety of complex sentence forms while maintaining accuracy, ensuring proper subject-verb agreement, correct prepositions, and careful proofreading to eliminate frequent grammatical slips.

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.