Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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 have different views about whether it is better to accept a bad situation such as an unsatisfactory job or lack of money, or it is better to work and enhance ourselves to overcome such circumstances.,Although both views have thire merits I believe that we should never accept less.

on the one hand, the reason why some people belive that it is better to accept a bad situation than fight to improve, returns on a lot of factors, and the main factor for this is that they see themselves in a low regard in another words they dont think that they deserve better, and this way of thinking takes sevaral opportunities from their sights, as a results they never take a step forward and they remain standing on their places with the same life standards or maybe the less untill time is gone.

on the other hand other argue that, it is allways better to push and try to improve our situation, the people behind this theory are most likely have a high regard for themselves, they belive that they desrve better, they never remain on their places watching people take chances while their just watching, they accept all the passing opportunities in order to enhance their live standards, as a results this type of people end up allways with better situation coming out of the dust.

In conclusion, Although there is a lot of different idividuals in this world, he who accept less and he who believe that he deserve better, I deeply believe that we should listen to life whenever it push us to evolve beyond who we are in order to overcome the next obstacle, and this usually happens whenever our current self has exhausted its potenial.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state a clear preference in the opening: “we should never accept less.” The two body paragraphs explain acceptance through low self-regard and improvement through confidence and taking opportunities, so the response is relevant to the question. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the reasons are broad claims about people’s attitudes, with no concrete example or explanation of when accepting a situation might be sensible. Your conclusion adds a reflective idea about being pushed to evolve, but it does not clearly weigh the two views. To strengthen the response, explain each position with a specific example and make your own judgement more directly connected to the job or money situations in the prompt. (The response includes 11 words copied from the task prompt.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. The signposts “on the one hand,” “on the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and several sentences contain too many linked ideas, particularly the first body paragraph, which moves from self-regard to missed opportunities and then to life standards without clear breaks. References such as “this type of people” and “he who” are not always clear or consistent. Use shorter, more focused sentences, and make the relationship between each reason and its consequence explicit. This would improve progression while preserving the clear paragraph arrangement already present.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “unsatisfactory job,” “overcome such circumstances,” “opportunities,” and “evolve.” These choices show some range beyond basic wording. However, errors in spelling and word choice are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “thire,” “sevaral,” “desrve,” and “potenial” are examples, while “returns on a lot of factors” is an unnatural expression. Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “coming out of the dust” and “accept all the passing opportunities.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise language for financial hardship, career dissatisfaction, and taking action would make the argument clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex structures, including clauses beginning “Although” and “in order to,” and the overall meaning can generally be followed. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in sentence boundaries, agreement, and verb forms recur. For example, the opening joins separate ideas with a comma and begins with a lowercase letter; “other argue” lacks subject–verb agreement; and “the people … are most likely have” has an incorrect verb construction. The final sentence also shifts awkwardly between singular “he” and plural “we.” Practise building one main idea per sentence, checking agreement and verb patterns, and using full stops and commas to separate clauses accurately.

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