Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-01

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)

It is thought by many people that you should adapt to a bad situation, for instance, an unsatisfactory job or a lack of worth. However, there are another people argue that and prefer to attempt and enhance the situation. In my opinion, I believe that in these situations we should do our best to overcome the circumstances.

Firstly, people who believe it is better to accommodate a bad condition instead of facing the challenges and beating them might sometimes be lazy. Life is like that; every day brings new problems, and we need to stay ready to solve them. Some people would rather be in the safe zone as long as there is no extreme damage to their purposes. They may not be ready for a new job and still choose to stay in the wrong job with bad salary, fearing what the future will bring.

In contrast, some brave people are aware of the morality of life, which is that people don’t have to accept their circumstances without aiming to boost their capabilities and find the best solution. To illustrate, Dr: Ahmed Zweil, who got the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001, overcame several bad conditions of luck the knowledge, guidance, and assistance at the beginning of his journey, until he decided to travel to the USA even if he might have a stable family in Egypt, but he chose his dream and achieved his goal.

In conclusion, People are not the same in making their decisions, but it is more effective when you try to deal with the situation and find alternative solutions to apply.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a clear overall view: “we should do our best to overcome the circumstances,” and the conclusion reinforces the value of seeking alternatives. Both sides are included, with the first paragraph explaining why people may stay in an unsatisfactory job and the second offering an example of someone pursuing a goal despite difficulties. However, the discussion is uneven: accepting a bad situation is mainly attributed to laziness or fear, while the reasons someone might reasonably accept it—such as financial responsibilities or limited opportunities—are not explored. The example of Ahmed Zewail is relevant in principle, but its connection to the specific choice between accepting and improving a bad situation is not clearly explained. Develop both views more evenly and make the example’s relevance explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. “Firstly” and “In contrast” help signal the shift between arguments, and the overall progression is understandable. Some links and references, however, are awkward or unclear. For example, “there are another people argue that” makes the contrast difficult to follow, while “these situations” in the opening refers broadly to the examples without specifying them. The long sentence about Zewail contains several ideas joined together, so the reader has to work to identify the sequence of events and their relevance. Use clearer topic sentences and divide complex explanations into shorter, logically connected sentences; this would make the organisation more consistently easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “accommodate,” “overcome,” “capabilities,” and “alternative solutions.” These choices show an effort to express ideas beyond basic language. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate and sometimes obscure your meaning: “a lack of worth” does not naturally mean a shortage of money, “safe zone” is less suitable than “comfort zone,” and “bad conditions of luck the knowledge” is unclear. “Morality of life” also does not convey the intended idea of a general principle about life. Aim for precise, natural phrases and check collocations, especially when describing hardship, employment, and personal decisions. More accurate wording would make your argument clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea in “as long as there is no extreme damage” and a relative clause in “people who believe it is better.” The main message is generally recoverable, but some sentence structures are faulty and make parts difficult to understand. For instance, “there are another people argue that” has problems with agreement and clause construction, and the sentence beginning “To illustrate, Dr:” runs on through several clauses without a clear grammatical structure. There are also issues with articles, such as “the safe zone,” and punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent, including “In conclusion, People.” Practise building complex sentences around one clear main clause, then check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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