Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

There are two general opinions regarding dealing with an unfavourable situation - first, it is best to accept a troubling situation and adjust to it such as an unfulfilling job or financial distress. The other opinion is to try and better these poor circumstances. In my opinion, the latter persective is better for long-term happiness and contentment.

In life, people face many situations which are distressing and affect their lives in a negative way. These problems can range from unsatisfactory work, lack of finances, relationship problems or even staying in enviroments that are suppressing their growth. More often than not, people try to reason their way in to staying in these situations for various reasons, whether it is because of familiarity, safety, stability, or just a fear of the unknown.

Having said that, I believe that staying in an unsuitable situation for a long time causes more negative impacts than benefits. These include restraint growth, mental dissatifaction, poor living quality and unhealthy relationships, among others. When a person takes the courageous initiative to leave a situation which no longer serves him/her, at first it can be challenging but overtime it usually leads to better opportunities. The famous proverb "God helps those who helps themselves" is a reflection of this opinion. A personal example, is being the only student from my university batch who opted for final undergraduate thesis instead of an elective course. This decision could have impacted my CGPA in a negative way and also lead to a substantially larger workload. However, as someone who thrives in research and found the available courses rather unsatisfactory, the decision though challenging at first, was much more enriching than studying an elective would not have served me in the future as I am interested in pursuing a research-based masters.

In conclusion, people holding the perspective that adjusting to a bad situation or leaving the situation, both have valid reasons. In my perspective, the latter opinion has more positive lasting effects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you favour trying to improve an unsatisfactory situation, and you give a relevant personal example about choosing a thesis over an elective. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the case for accepting a bad situation is only briefly suggested through familiarity, safety, stability, and fear of the unknown. These reasons are listed rather than explained or illustrated, while most of the essay develops the benefits of change. The thesis example supports your preference, but it concerns an academic choice rather than the job or financial situations in the prompt, and its connection to the broader argument could be made more explicit. Develop the acceptance viewpoint with a concrete reason or example, then explain more directly why your preferred approach is generally stronger.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction presents the two positions, the body develops your preference, and the conclusion restates it. Ideas generally progress logically, and transitions such as “Having said that” and “In conclusion” help signal shifts. The personal example also gives the main argument a recognisable sequence from decision to possible risk to benefit. To make the progression more balanced and cohesive, give each viewpoint a distinct, developed paragraph rather than moving quickly from a list of reasons for acceptance to an extended argument for change. Some links are also awkward or unclear, particularly the final sentence of the example, where the relationship between the elective, future research, and the decision is difficult to follow. Use clearer referencing and sentence boundaries to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for the topic, including “financial distress,” “familiarity,” “stability,” “courageous initiative,” and “lasting effects.” These choices help express the emotional and practical dimensions of the issue, and meaning remains clear. There are, however, several spelling and word-choice problems that reduce precision, such as “persective,” “enviroments,” and “dissatifaction.” Some combinations are also unnatural: “restraint growth” and “better these poor circumstances” do not express your meaning idiomatically. Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling carefully, especially in less familiar words. More precise language for the acceptance viewpoint would also help you discuss both sides with greater flexibility rather than relying on a list of general reasons.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “situations which are distressing” and conditional phrasing about how the decision “could have impacted” your CGPA. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems remain. For example, “people try to reason their way in to staying” has an awkward construction, and the long sentence beginning “However, as someone who thrives in research” becomes difficult to follow because its clauses are not clearly connected. The phrase “A personal example, is” also has an unnecessary comma, while “both have valid reasons” does not fit smoothly with the singular subject “perspective.” Break up the longest sentence and check clause structure, agreement, and punctuation to make your ideas easier to process.

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