Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-04

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 5.0)

Many people believe that it is better to deal with problematic situations, such as professional unsatisfaction, or financial difficulties. However, some people believe that we should take actions and try to improve those situations. In my humble opinion, I totally side with the fact that it is better to try and improve such situations, instead of accepting it.

First and foremost, it is believed by many that we should accept some bad situations like financial and professional problems. It is very understandable for most people who deal with many problems that are occuring in their daily lives. The reason why is people usually are discouraged and overwhelmed from today's buzzling and competitive world. For instance, many adults work everyday to earn, however, due to poor economics in some countries, people earn very little amount of money that could barely cover their daily costs. Hence, people have no choice, but to deal with it.

Nevertheless, there are this group of people who take action to improve their life quality. Accepting bad situations can have certain consequences that which in the long run can result serious mental health problems, such as anxiety or deppresion. Even though it feels difficult and discouraged for some people to try harder in this world, we can live freely without any worries in anything after overcoming those difficult situations.

To put everything into consideration, this phenomenon has both pros and cons like two sides of a coin, so that trying to improve and overcome the problems in our lives has far more benefits in my view.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear preference for improving difficult circumstances, and you mention both acceptance and action, so the response is relevant to the question. However, the discussion is only partial: the reasons for accepting a bad situation are briefly stated, while the case for trying to improve it is mostly asserted rather than supported with a specific example. The conclusion repeats your view but does not add a developed justification. The response also falls one word short of the required 250 words; the 10 words copied from the task prompt are excluded from the count. To strengthen the response, explain both viewpoints more fully and include a concrete example showing how someone might improve an unsatisfactory job or financial situation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “First and foremost,” “Nevertheless,” and “To put everything into consideration” help signal stages in the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is limited, and some connections are unclear or mechanical. For example, “The reason why is people usually…” does not clearly connect the explanation to the preceding point, while “so that” is awkward in the conclusion. The final paragraph also introduces “pros and cons” without explaining them. Build each body paragraph around one main idea, then develop it with a clear explanation and example; use referencing and transitions that show the precise relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “financial difficulties,” “competitive world,” “overwhelmed,” and “mental health problems.” This gives you enough language to communicate the general subject and your position. However, the range is limited, and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts of the response sound unnatural, such as “professional unsatisfaction,” “poor economics,” “earn very little amount of money,” and “live freely without any worries in anything.” There are also spelling errors in “occuring,” “buzzling,” and “deppresion.” Aim for more precise, natural phrases and check spelling carefully. Using vocabulary such as “job dissatisfaction,” “economic conditions,” and “cover basic living expenses” would make your points clearer and more appropriate for an academic essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including a relative clause in “people earn very little amount of money that could barely cover their daily costs” and a concessive opening with “Even though.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “The reason why is people usually are discouraged,” “there are this group of people,” and “can result serious mental health problems.” There are also problems with articles, agreement, and sentence construction, as in “instead of accepting it” after the plural “situations.” Practise forming accurate clauses and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb patterns. Clearer, shorter sentences would help you express your ideas reliably while you build complexity.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.