Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-04

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 6.0)

Accepting or Improving a bad situation has sparked considerable debate over the years. While some advocate that it is best to accept a bad situation, others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations. This essay will examine both perspectives before giving my own opinion.

On the one hand, those who advocate that it is better to accept a bad situation put forward a compelling argument. Initially, there is no point of trying to get out of a bad situation, a person can't undo the thing which is written in his or her fate. Moreover, trying to get out of the bad and not getting out of it after facing so many hardships really demotivates a person and exacerbate the feelings about the situation. Nevertheless, this view fails to the situation where a lucky person actually get out of it.

On the other hand, proponents of trying and improving a bad situation assert that if an individual doesn't ever try to improve the bad situation, he or she will never get out of it. A prime example is of me when i ended up in a job where I was overwhelmed and frustated due to the employer's requirement and micro-management of manager making my everyday life miserable. However, I never accepted it as my fate, instead, started learning and new skills and preparing for interviews after office hours. Consequently, I got a better opportunity with double the amount of salary I was getting. In my view, this perspective is more compelling because sooner or later, this approach ensures an individual get out of the situation.

To sum up, while both view have merit, I believe that it is better to try and fail rather than never trying to make your life better. Provided that I got out of my worst job ever by try and improve approach, I belive that everybody can get out of every situation if they consistently follow this approach. Ultimately, this comes down to an individual's decision and thinking of what they want with their life, however, this approach will ensure that they achieve what they want sooner or later.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on accepting versus improving a bad situation and presenting a clear personal opinion. The length requirement was met comfortably, with 336 words written (note that 21 words copied from the task prompt were not counted). The ideas are generally relevant, fulfilling the baseline requirements for the mid-band level. However, some parts of the task are developed more fully than others. For instance, the argument in favour of acceptance relies heavily on fatalism ('the thing which is written in his or her fate') rather than practical considerations, leading to some under-developed reasoning in the first body paragraph. To reach a higher band, the arguments for both sides need to be equally well-extended and supported with more robust, objective reasoning rather than leaning on personal anecdotes alone.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and the four-paragraph structure is logical and appropriate for an academic essay. There is a clear progression of ideas as the writer moves from examining the first view to the second, and finally to their own opinion. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. Transitional phrases like 'Initially' and 'Nevertheless, this view fails to the situation' feel slightly awkward in their context, and referencing is not always completely clear. To achieve a higher level, the writer needs to employ a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that inter-sentence transitions flow naturally without drawing attention to themselves.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'considerable debate', 'compelling argument', 'micro-management', and 'proponents'. Communication is rarely impeded by lexical errors. However, there are notable instances of word choice, word form, and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'fails to the situation' instead of 'fails to account for', 'frustated' instead of 'frustrated', and 'try and improve approach' instead of 'try-and-improve approach' or 'proactive approach'. There are also occasional awkward phrasings like 'double the amount of salary'. To improve, the writer should refine their word choice and ensure correct word forms and collocations are used consistently when attempting sophisticated vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as conditional and concessive clauses ('While some advocate that..., others argue that...'). However, the grammatical control shows a mix of error-free structures and noticeable errors. There are issues with verb forms, prepositions within grammatical patterns, and articles, such as 'no point of trying' instead of 'no point in trying', 'get out of the bad' missing a noun, 'a lucky person actually get out' (subject-verb agreement), and 'start learning and new skills'. Punctuation and minor syntactic slips also occur. To move up, the writer must produce a greater frequency of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over grammatical agreements and prepositions.

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