Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, should be required to work in the country where they did their training. Others believe they should be free to work in another country if they wish.

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)

Free will is a basic human right. In my opinion, everybody has the freedom of choice and decision making. If somebody is willing to work in another country for a better lifestyle or earning a greater living, then it is absolutely alright and people should not question their moral ambiguity or whatsoever. However, I do believe that doctors and engineers are the brightest citizens of our country in terms of intellect as the country has spend it's resources on them. We are in dire need for doctors and often times face the scarcity of skilled doctors and engineers. The training that they acquire from a country; plays a pivotal role in shaping how they are going to function in their actual line of work because, a certain place and culture has a specific type of people who share same beliefs, hence, going to a different country can give a cultural shock to doctors and engineers. As they are more accustomed in doing field work, they understand the perception their country people and know the remedy for the predicaments. Subsequently, they can acquire more reverance in their own country more than they would in a foreign land. People cooperate more when they deal with other people from the same culture. Adapting to changes and alteration in culture and people might come off as a shock in the begining, however, after residing there for a certain for a period of time, they can get accustomed to the people and the place. In our country doctors and engineers do not get paid as much neither in terms of money nor respect. My brother is a doctor and he doesnt get paid as much for the hardwork as he would have abroad. He burned the midnight oil to do morning and night shifts yet often times get shouted upon and mistreated by seniors and patients. Often times due to political affiliations of patients hinders his loyalty towards his profession. These factors altogether discourages him to build a profession life in our country, hence, I think a pragmatic approach for doctors and engineers would be to go to a country where there is less corruption, higher reverance and a better living standard.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you support professionals being free to work abroad, while also recognising the country’s investment in their training and its need for skilled workers. The discussion includes relevant points about shortages, cultural familiarity, pay, respect and working conditions, and your brother’s experience gives the argument a personal example. However, the two views are not developed evenly. The case for requiring professionals to remain is mainly asserted through national need and cultural fit, without considering how a service requirement might work or why it could be fair. Some claims, such as professionals being more effective among people from their own culture, also need qualification or evidence. Develop both sides more fully and connect each example directly to the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response moves from your general view to reasons for retaining trained professionals, then to the difficulties that encourage them to leave, so a broad line of argument is present. However, it is presented as one long paragraph, which makes the shift between these positions difficult to follow. Several ideas are joined in extended sentences, and connectors such as “however,” “hence” and “subsequently” sometimes signal relationships that are not fully clear. For example, the move from cultural shock to professionals gaining greater respect at home needs a clearer explanation. Use separate paragraphs for the two views and your opinion, and make each paragraph develop one main point with clear links between its supporting details.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonably broad range of vocabulary to discuss the topic, including “scarcity of skilled doctors,” “cultural shock,” “political affiliations” and “burned the midnight oil.” These choices help convey the pressures professionals face. There are also attempts at more formal or less common wording, but some expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “earning a greater living,” “moral ambiguity,” “acquire more reverance” and “build a profession life.” Spelling errors, including “begining” and “reverance,” also reduce precision. Aim for natural collocations and check word forms and spelling; for instance, “earn a higher salary” and “build a professional career” express your intended meanings more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional phrasing (“If somebody is willing…”) and clauses introduced by “because” and “however.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors make sentences awkward or obscure the relationships between ideas. Examples include “the country has spend it’s resources,” “a certain place and culture has,” and “Often times due to political affiliations of patients hinders his loyalty,” where verb forms, agreement or sentence construction need correction. Punctuation also creates problems in places, such as the semicolon after “country.” Review subject–verb agreement, past participles, possessives and how to build complete clauses. Breaking long sentences into shorter units would help you control these structures more accurately.

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