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)

Unquestionably, every coin has two sides and so are people. Society's people are divided into two groups and therefore one can live a life with challenges such as undesirable job and money problems, while other always try to overcome from these situations. This essay will compare and contrast both opinions along with my opinion which is in the favour of both views.

Initiating with the points supporting first school of thought, life is unpredictable therefore no one knows what the future holds. People who stands with job and money problems and continue their life with them, these people may be lack of confidence and potential. To explain this, sometimes people have no goals and ambitions for future and they remain satisfied with their life or seek for opportunity without efforts. This is the main reason behind this thinking that become a barrier in people's life. The people who support this say that they do not want to work hard and fight with their luck to maintain a good lifestyle for their family and walk on a circular track where no possiblities of success approach them.

On the contrasting side, people who held another point have courage and goals for a better future. To explicate it, they never stuck on a place and keen to find a better opportunity that can help them to become financial stable and build a better lifestyle. The main reason behind this is that these people always stay positive for future and never want to see their families dive into the financial problems. Furthermore to become a successful person they do not make excuses and faults for life and this potential led them to overcome life challenges.

To conclude, every people have positive and negative thoughts regards future. I opine that it depends on the qualities such as fixed ambitions, potential and goals which help a person to defeat problems otherwise lack of these qualities never let us to build our career.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give a personal position, so the response addresses the main parts of the prompt. The two body paragraphs distinguish between accepting difficult circumstances and trying to improve them. However, your opinion is not fully clear: the introduction says you favour “both views,” while the conclusion suggests that success depends on ambition and potential, which leans more towards taking action. Several claims are also under-developed or overly broad, such as saying people who accept their situation “do not want to work hard.” Explain why acceptance might sometimes be sensible—for example, when circumstances cannot be changed immediately—and support each view with a specific example. A more consistent position and fuller explanation would make the response more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the contrasting side” help signal the shift between arguments, and the reader can follow the general progression. However, some linking is mechanical or unclear. “Initiating with the points supporting first school of thought” is an awkward opening to the first body paragraph, while “To explain this” and “To explicate it” repeat the same function. Some sentences also contain several ideas without a clear relationship, particularly the long sentence about people who continue with job and money problems. Use simpler topic sentences, connect each explanation directly to its claim, and make references such as “these people” more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “ambitions,” “opportunity,” “financial problems,” and “overcome life challenges.” These choices show an effort to discuss work, money, and personal motivation. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “overcome from these situations,” “financial stable,” “walk on a circular track,” and “possibilities of success approach them.” Some expressions, such as “every coin has two sides,” are familiar but do not add much precision here. Aim for natural combinations such as “overcome these difficulties,” “become financially stable,” and “make progress,” and choose vocabulary that expresses the argument directly rather than relying on unclear imagery.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “therefore,” “while,” and “that,” but control is uneven. Errors occur in basic agreement and verb forms: “people who stands” should be “people who stand,” and “this potential led them” should be “this potential leads them.” There are also problems with articles, plurals, and sentence construction, as in “every people have” and “these people may be lack of confidence.” Some long sentences combine clauses in ways that make their relationships hard to follow. Practise checking subject–verb agreement, article use, and complete sentence structure, then divide complex ideas into shorter sentences. More accurate control of these patterns would make your varied sentence attempts easier to understand.

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