Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-06

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)

A considerable amount of people believes that it is better to accept a bad situation while other believes that we should try and improve such situations. Although both have their own merits, I believe that we must try to improve our situation.

In today's world securing an opportunity is a difficult task. People stick to their unsatisfactory job which pay them less but take more work or duty. For instance, workers coming from weak background they start working on a very little salary and they stick to it because they lose hope. Also, they have fear in themselves that they might not get an opportunity in future. Therefore, their belief does not let them change their condition.

However, the others point of view is quite related to me. If you are struggling with bad situations you must try to improve. For instance, if you get a job which is unsatisfactory try to change it. Apply in other companies and organization. If you are lacking money, think and work on new ideas. How i can earn more money. Therefore, believe in yourself and work upon your condition to improve it.

In conclusion, I would say it largely depends upon individual thinking and interest. But if you have an opportunity to improve then you must go for it.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task partially, as it discusses both views and gives a personal opinion, but the ideas remain limited and under-developed. For example, the body paragraphs touch upon staying in an unsatisfactory job due to fear, but the explanations are repetitive and lack extended support or specific, robust real-world examples. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met, as the response contains only 216 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum. To move to a higher band, you need to fully develop your arguments with more detailed explanations and ensure you meet the word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation evident with basic paragraphing and clear introductory and concluding statements, but the response lacks a clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'For instance' and 'Also' to introduce new points without smooth transitions between ideas. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the transition from discussing general workers to your own view using phrases like 'the others point of view is quite related to me'. To achieve a higher band, you need to ensure a smoother logical progression between paragraphs and use a wider, more accurate variety of cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic meaning. There are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, such as writing 'job which pay them less' instead of 'jobs that pay less', and 'workers coming from weak background' instead of 'weaker socioeconomic backgrounds'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the range of vocabulary remains restricted to common, everyday terms with little attempt at less common lexical items. To improve, you should incorporate a wider variety of topic-specific vocabulary and focus on accurate word partnerships.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text displays a very limited range of structures, with frequent errors that can cause difficulty for the reader. There are noticeable issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'A considerable amount of people believes' instead of 'believe', and missing articles throughout the text, such as 'securing an opportunity' or 'in future'. Attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, including direct speech or rhetorical questions like 'How i can earn more money.' Punctuation and capitalization errors also occur, such as the lowercase 'i'. To move to the next level, you must demonstrate a greater mix of accurate complex sentence forms and better control over basic grammatical rules.

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.