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)

While many people believe that it is the best to accept a bad situation and live with it, I believe it is way better to try your best and improve those situations because I believe accepting a bad situation removes the concept of happiness and satisfaction from one's life.

By trying to improve those situations, a person has a hope in his heart, and that hope is the key to a person's best output to achieve something. For example: In typical corporate jobs, if a person is unsatisfied from his job, salary or workplace; he has two options either to accept that situation and keep getting grinded in that boring life, which will eventually lead to being stressed and getting depression; or he can try harder and work on his skills to get his dream job where he is needed, appreciated and valued; This will make him the happiest and he'll give his maximum outcome in his work. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, he has also explained about a person's need of satisfactory job, esteem and comfort.

Accepting a bad or unsatisfactory situation can also make a person's personal life traumatized. If a person is not satisfied in his professional life, his personal life will automatically be affected; he'll not be able to respond his family, friends or partner accurately and it'll lead to societal conflicts, making a person's life total worthless.

So whenever, If I am in any kind of situation like that, I would try my best to get out of that bad situation and try to find a way out to improve that situation for a happy and satisfactory life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you favour trying to improve difficult circumstances, and you give relevant reasons involving hope, work satisfaction and effects on family life. The corporate-job example helps illustrate your view. However, the task asks you to discuss both perspectives, and the case for accepting a bad situation is barely explored; it is presented mainly as a choice that leads to boredom and stress. The reference to Maslow is also not explained enough to show how it supports your argument. To develop the response more fully, explain why someone might accept a situation—for example, because change is risky or responsibilities limit their options—then weigh this against the benefits of taking action.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening position, a paragraph about improving circumstances, a paragraph on personal consequences, and a concluding statement. Ideas are generally understandable, and examples connect to the central argument. However, progression is limited because the essay develops one side much more than the other, and the second body paragraph largely repeats the claim that dissatisfaction harms a person’s life. Some linking is awkward or mechanical, particularly the long sentence beginning “For example” and the transition “So whenever, If I am…”. The semicolon-heavy example also makes the relationship between its points harder to follow. Use clearer paragraph purposes, develop the opposing view separately, and connect each reason to the next with more precise transitions and referencing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “unsatisfactory,” “satisfaction,” “esteem,” “societal conflicts” and “hierarchy of needs.” These choices show an attempt to express abstract ideas as well as workplace examples. Some wording is imprecise or unnatural, however, such as “getting grinded,” “maximum outcome,” “respond his family … accurately” and “life total worthless.” These phrases do not usually prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for more accurate collocations and avoid intensifying claims beyond what your example supports. For instance, describe a person as becoming “stressed” or “experiencing depression” rather than using an awkward or overly absolute expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if a person is unsatisfied … he has two options” and cause-and-effect clauses. The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are noticeable. Examples include “it is the best to accept” (article and structure), “a person has a hope” (article use), and “he’ll not be able to respond his family” (verb pattern). The long sentence beginning “For example” contains several clauses joined with semicolons and would be clearer if divided into shorter sentences. Also check capitalisation after sentence breaks, as in “So whenever, If I am…”. Practise accurate clause boundaries and common verb patterns while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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