Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-24

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)

People of today get to encounter a lot of problems and bad situations. Few people think of accepting their bad situation while in contrast, others opinion is to try to manipulate their situtaion in whatever capacity possible.

In my prespective, it is better to work hard and try our best to change our current circumstances. Nature also helps those who try to change rather than accept. Accepting a bad situation is a sign of low moral. This happens with everyone, that, a hard situation drains energy so people do not feel enough stability to shift their situation.

Furthermore, attitude of improving a situation keeps people away from feelings of stress and depression. People with this particular attitude invest their energy in getting things sorted. For example, a person serving in an unsatisfactory job will not be able to work up to the mark and will waste his skills. Meanwhile, if he coordinate his issues with management, they might listen and make things easier for him or else he can just switch to some other job and serving that company with his full level of dedication that he was not able to put while in the job that he does not like.

In contrast, people with mindset of accepting bad situations in a way they are, loose their personality while having low self-steem and moral. For example, if person accepts his poverty by mentioning that this is what nature choose for me and not try enough to be able to improve his financial condition. That person will always live in poverty and suffer throughout his life.

In conclusion, people should always try to utilize all their abilities to work hard and to improve their hard situations. Failure does not define a person yet giving all your efforts in finding a solution builds person's personality.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear opinion that people should try to improve difficult circumstances, and you support it with relevant examples about an unsatisfactory job and poverty. However, the discussion is weighted heavily toward this position: the opposing view of accepting a bad situation is mentioned mainly to criticise it, rather than explaining why someone might reasonably accept circumstances they cannot change. The claim that acceptance is “a sign of low moral” is also broad and not supported, while the job example is more fully developed than the other ideas. To strengthen the response, explain the possible benefits of acceptance, such as reducing stress when a situation is beyond one’s control, then compare this with the value of taking practical steps to improve it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a statement of your position, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphs generally focus on one main idea, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “In contrast,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the argument. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and the contrast paragraph does not develop the alternative view so much as repeat the argument against acceptance. Some links between ideas are also unclear, particularly the shift from stress and depression to the job example. Use transitions to show the precise relationship between claims, and organise the body around a balanced discussion of each view before presenting your judgement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “current circumstances,” “financial condition,” “dedication,” and “solution.” These choices allow you to express your main ideas, but several inaccurate or unnatural phrases make the writing less precise. Examples include “manipulate their situation,” “low moral,” “loose their personality,” and “nature choose for me”; spelling errors such as “situtaion,” “prespective,” and “self-steem” also reduce accuracy. Some wording is repetitive, especially the repeated use of “bad situation” and “try.” Aim for natural collocations and more precise terms, such as “improve their circumstances,” “low self-esteem,” and “accept their financial hardship,” while checking spelling during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and relative clauses, as in “if he coordinate his issues with management, they might listen” and “a person serving in an unsatisfactory job.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction remain noticeable. For example, “if he coordinate” should be “if he coordinates,” “if person accepts” needs an article, and “what nature choose for me” requires a past-tense verb. The long job example also contains several clauses that are difficult to control. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and verb tense, and divide long sentences where needed to improve accuracy and clarity.

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