Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-19

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)

Many people seem to be optimistic in situations like these, they tend to see the good thing in every bad moments even when it involves their personal lives. Others think that this is unfair and it's better to fix and make improvements for a better outcome.

People who doesn't want to be involved in situtations where it can be worse are the ones who just accept what is handed to them. They think that it's best to accept the outcome because they can't do anything about it. Some people don't want to put too much stress or buden to themselves because this will just affect their work and lives. For example, people who experienced a bad situation like financial constraints, they don't want to add more problem to their situation that's why their solution is just to accept that it will pass and they'll be able to get over it.

Other critics argue that it's better to grab opportunities to improve such situations. People want to try to be better because they believe that they can overcome this by making a change. Being able to accept these situations and make a change about it says a lot about your personality and stand in life. Others prefer to be an inspiration to others and help them surpass their problems. Its important to make a difference and not just put yourself in a situation where you know that it can be better in the future.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that people should always try, because by trying we can improve our situations and make it better. We can't accept that we cannot help or make a change in our situation because this is our life, we make sure that we are being treated fairly by fighting for what is right and making sure that we get the positive outcome that we want.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and make your own position clear: the first body paragraph explains why some people accept difficult circumstances, while the next argues for taking action, and the conclusion firmly supports trying to improve them. The financial-constraints example is relevant, but its explanation remains general; it would be stronger if you showed a specific way someone might respond and what could happen. The discussion of accepting a situation also focuses mainly on avoiding stress, so it does not fully explore when acceptance might be sensible, such as when circumstances cannot be changed. Develop and balance these ideas with more precise reasoning to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that restates your opinion. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes loose: the second body paragraph moves from taking opportunities to personality and then to inspiring others without clearly connecting each point to the central argument. Some linking is also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “Some people” and “Others.” Use clearer topic sentences and explain how each supporting point develops the paragraph’s main idea. More precise referencing would also help readers follow phrases such as “this” and “it.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the topic, including phrases such as “financial constraints,” “overcome,” and “positive outcome.” However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “situation,” “better,” and “people,” and several choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward. For example, “see the good thing in every bad moments” and “add more problem to their situation” are not natural expressions, while “stand in life” is unclear in context. Spelling errors such as “situtations” and “buden” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise range for discussing acceptance, resilience, and practical change, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, some errors in agreement, sentence boundaries, and clause construction remain. For instance, “People who doesn't want” should use a plural verb, and the opening sentence joins two independent clauses with only a comma. In “people who experienced a bad situation like financial constraints, they don't want…,” the relative clause and main clause are awkwardly combined. There are also errors such as “Its important,” where the possessive form is needed, and “make it better” after “improve our situations,” where the pronoun reference is inconsistent. Review agreement and punctuation, and aim for more controlled complex sentences.

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.