Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-28

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some countries today, there is an attitude that 'anyone can do it' in the arts - music, literature, acting, art, etc. As a result, people with no talent become rich and famous and genuine talent is not valued or appreciated.

Do you agree or disagree?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

In some countries today, this attitude has been observed that the professions such as arts, music, literature, and acting, are very easy and anyone with a little basic knowledge can outperform in these fields. But this is not always true. I am providing some examples to illustrate my views.

I am a resident of Atif Aslam is considered to be the best musician here right now. Playing with the strings of the guitar is not a cup of tea. Not everybody can do this on their own. If anyone is seen to be playing guitar or making a good craft of a famous person or doing calligraphy, it means that there are a couple of months they have been into the practice of that particular profession. Nusrat Ali Khan is another great musician in the history of Pakistan and is very famous all over the world for his uniqueness and dedication with which he always amused the audience and the music industry.

In contrast, there are a lot of people who, these days, are trying to play music, or craft beautiful pictures, or adapting the professions of acting. Somehow, they are not very capable for those things. Even on putting so much efforts, they are not able to achieve what was done by Atif Aslam or Nusrat fateh Ali Khan. Therefore, one should focus on what they can do more naturally and what amuses them the most.

To sum up, I would like to add that every person comes with a talent in one's field. It requires a bit of time to recognize such talent and power in oneself. Therefore, we should not criticize anyone if they are trying into any profession. Success follows hard work, not luck.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether anyone can succeed in the arts, leaning towards the view that genuine talent and hard work are necessary. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies heavily on personal assertions rather than fully extended arguments. The student attempts to address all parts of the task by taking a stance, but the central position could have been articulated with greater clarity and depth. For instance, the reference to 'I am a resident of Atif Aslam is considered to be the best musician here' is grammatically garbled and obscures the intended argument. While relevant points regarding practice and dedication are introduced, they lack sufficient elaboration to reach higher bands. Overall, the task is addressed, but ideas remain somewhat under-developed, aligning with a Band 5.5 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays a basic overall organisation with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, progression is frequently disrupted by awkward phrasing and abrupt transitions. For example, the sentence 'I am a resident of Atif Aslam is considered...' breaks the logical flow entirely. Paragraphing is attempted, with the third paragraph beginning with 'In contrast', but the contrast being made is muddled because the previous paragraph also discussed musicians who trained hard. Cohesive devices such as 'Therefore' and 'To sum up' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in 'anyone with a little basic knowledge can outperform in these fields' followed immediately by 'But this is not always true.' The flow of ideas requires more careful control and clearer logical links, placing this text at a Band 5.0 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses a minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms such as 'profession', 'dedication', 'criticize', and 'success'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that impede the natural flow of the writing. Examples include 'outperform in these fields' instead of 'outperform others', 'making a good craft of a famous person' instead of 'crafting a portrait', and 'adapting the professions of acting' instead of 'adopting the profession of acting'. Vocabulary is sometimes repetitive or imprecise, such as using 'things' and 'stuff' implicitly. While the student attempts less common items, inaccuracies in word choice and collocation prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 an appropriate score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and sentence structure is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors that cause difficulty for the reader. A primary example is the fused, ungrammatical sentence: 'I am a resident of Atif Aslam is considered to be the best musician here right now.' Other errors include preposition misuse ('dedication with which', 'trying into any profession') and awkward subject-verb agreement or pronoun referencing ('what was done by Atif Aslam or Nusrat fateh Ali Khan'). Complex structures are often faulty and disrupt readability. Although the meaning can sometimes be gleaned with effort, the high frequency of intrusive grammatical errors places this response firmly in the Band 5.0 category.

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

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