Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays it's possible for people to buy many products or pay for treatments that help them to look younger.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Nowadays, a trend of looking younger than age has been growing significantly. This trend has sparked a controversy in recent years. Many people believe cosmetic products are good for skin, while others believe treatments might help them to look younger. I believe treatments disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

On the one hand, there are several advantages of using various skin products. One of the significant factors is improving skin glow. In recent years, there are numerous face serums are available in the market. Every products focus on different issues. For instance, they work on glowing skin, reducing acne spots, enhancing brightness, reducing dark spots and many more. This is how these products work on different issues and make skin more flawless and younger. however, if individuals have any discomfort or allergy by any ingredients, they can immediately stop a particular product.

On the other hand, there are compelling disadvantages of skin treatments. Firstly, These treatments use some fillers and some chemicals, which doctors apply beneath the skin. This usually consider as a one way process. In other words, people cannot reverse the outcomes even if they have negative results. For instance, many actresses have tried these treatments in desire of looking younger and for better skin. However, they may damage their face structure and their looks are far from the reality. Secondly, these chemicals may disturb hormones as well, because of internal fillings. Consequently, a person may face many problems such as, unnatural hair growth, period cramps and many more.

To conclude, although Skin products have some disadvantages like allergy or irritation, but people can stop particular product with continuation of other serums. This is a good thing to use on outer surface of skin in order to have flawless skin.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is identifiable: you argue that treatments have greater disadvantages, while topical products are comparatively safer. You give relevant examples, including possible facial changes after cosmetic procedures and skin irritation from products. However, the response does not fully answer the question’s broad comparison of buying products or paying for treatments to look younger: the opening and body focus mainly on skin products and treatments, and the conclusion shifts to endorsing products without clearly restating your overall judgement about the trend. Some claims, such as treatments disturbing hormones and causing period cramps, are asserted without explanation or support. Develop the reasoning behind your main comparison and make the final position consistent and explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” helps readers follow the broad organisation. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes repetitive or unclear: the first body paragraph lists several product effects, then repeats that products address different issues and improve appearance. Some links are mechanical, and the conclusion’s focus on products does not clearly connect back to the claim that treatment disadvantages outweigh advantages. Improve cohesion by grouping related points, explaining how each example supports your argument, and using clear references when moving between products and procedures.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “face serums,” “fillers,” “chemicals,” “allergy,” and “hormones,” and some choices help communicate the subject clearly. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “one way process” and “face structure.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “improving skin glow,” “in desire of looking younger,” and “internal fillings.” Repetition of “skin,” “products,” and “younger” also limits flexibility. Choose more natural collocations and precise terms, and avoid claims whose wording is unclear. These improvements would make your ideas easier to interpret while retaining the relevant topic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “while,” “because,” and “even if,” so the response shows some structural variety. Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “there are numerous face serums are available” combines two sentence patterns, and “Every products focus” has a singular–plural agreement problem. Other examples include “This usually consider” and “although … but,” where the verb form and clause construction need correction. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “however” after a full stop and “Firstly, These.” Review agreement, sentence boundaries, and subordinate-clause patterns, then proofread for consistent punctuation.

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.