Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-18

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)

Failure is a part of life so some people believe that one should have to adopt a positive attitude towards failure while other believe that people should try to learn and improve that situation. This essay will shed light on both the notions with my view on this in upcoming paragraphs.

To begin with, ample reasons are there why people have to be positive during failures. The first and foremost is positive approach may lead to better results. To be more precise, by keeping positive behaviour towards the unwanted situations like unfavourable job or financial unstability one can learn to adjust which will help them to be more practical and people with this type of attitude are able to deal with difficult situations very well as they are calm and know exactly how to handel the situations. As per survey report held by British Broadcasting Corporation students who got jobs far beyond their native place are more independent and practical as compared to those who got all the facilities.

On the other hand, proponents of other view believes that one can try to make situation better. Firstly, by trying new jobs with better pay scale. To explain, people who are not satisfied with their job or pay or with any kind of failure they can try to be more professional and be more experienced which in turn provide them better carrier options.

To conclude, although having positive approach towards failure is a good thing, its solutions can not be neglected. In my opinion one can improve the situation by adopting various other methods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and give a personal position, particularly in the conclusion: you acknowledge the value of a positive attitude but say that people can improve their circumstances. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The first view focuses mainly on staying calm and adjusting, while the second is illustrated mostly by changing jobs or becoming more professional; the essay does not explain in much detail when acceptance is preferable or how people might improve other difficult situations, such as financial hardship. The BBC survey reference is also not clearly connected to the point about accepting an unsatisfactory situation. To strengthen the response, explain each view with a specific, relevant example and make your own position clearer throughout, rather than mainly in the final paragraph.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the discussion. However, progression within the body paragraphs is less secure. The survey example appears after a point about adjusting to difficult circumstances, but its relevance is not made explicit, and the second body paragraph moves quickly from dissatisfaction to trying new jobs without developing the connection. Some linking phrases, including “To be more precise” and “To explain,” feel mechanical rather than adding a clear relationship between ideas. Use fewer formulaic transitions and build each paragraph around a main point, followed by explanation and a directly relevant example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “positive approach,” “unwanted situations,” “financial” and “independent,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at less common expressions, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “financial unstability,” “better carrier options,” and “positive behaviour towards” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “handel” also affect the impression of control. Aim for accurate collocations and word forms rather than adding formal-sounding phrases. For example, “financial instability,” “career opportunities,” and “maintain a positive attitude in difficult circumstances” would communicate your ideas more clearly and appropriately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “by keeping positive behaviour … one can learn to adjust” and a relative clause in “people … are able to deal with difficult situations.” However, errors in agreement and sentence construction recur. For example, “other believe” and “proponents … believes” do not match their plural subjects, while “one should have to adopt” combines modal forms awkwardly. The opening sentence also joins two contrasting ideas without clear punctuation, and “which in turn provide them” has an agreement problem. These issues sometimes make the reader pause, although the main meaning remains recoverable. Check subject–verb agreement and modal constructions, and divide long sentences when their relationships become difficult to control.

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