Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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 5.0)

In toady's world, advancement in technology has many benefits for individuals in daily lifestyle, and cosmetic industry is one of the major and most demanding business. Althogh consumers can cure skin and age related issues and can get desired skin results, it has some significant negative effects on them. This essay will briefly discuss both points and and their pros and cons as well.

To begin with, influence of social media is a huge contribute into skincare industry, people follow celebrties and models, and their socially posted lifestlye often attracts individuals towards skin and body perfection. For example, a recently launched anti aging skin product has become popular among adults. Many already purchased without any research on the possible side effects of using that product, due to this can loose their money and desired skin results hope which can be harmful on their pshycological health.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response sits at a lower level because it responds to the task only minimally and fails to meet the required word count minimum of 250 words, stopping abruptly at only 145 words. While the writer touches upon the general theme of anti-aging products and cosmetic treatments, the discussion is extremely brief and lacks proper development. The prompt asks whether products and treatments to look younger are a good or bad thing, and while the introduction hints at both pros and cons, the body paragraph only touches vaguely on negative aspects related to social media and consumer regret. To reach a higher level, the writer must fully develop their position with extended ideas, clear reasoning, and relevant examples that directly answer all parts of the prompt while fulfilling the full length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text shows some basic organisation, utilizing an introductory paragraph and an opening for a first body paragraph, but there is no clear overall progression across the essay. Cohesive devices are minimal, mechanical, or inaccurate, such as using 'To begin with' followed by a run-on sentence structure that fails to logically link the influence of social media to the broader argument. Paragraphing is also disrupted, as the essay cuts off prematurely after the second paragraph before any balanced conclusion can be formed. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the dangling phrase 'due to this can loose their money'. To improve cohesiveness, the writer needs to ensure that sentences flow logically from one to the next using accurate cohesive links and structured paragraphing that guides the reader clearly through a well-developed argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for basic communication, but contains noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form that cause some difficulty for the reader. Examples include spelling errors like 'toady's' instead of 'today's', 'Althogh' instead of 'although', 'celebrties' instead of 'celebrities', and 'lifestlye' instead of 'lifestyle'. Furthermore, lexical choices like 'socially posted lifestlye' and 'desired skin results hope' sound unnatural and reflect a lack of collocation control. The writer attempts some less common terms like 'cosmetic industry' and 'pyschological health', but frequent inaccuracies restrict the range. To progress to a higher level, the writer must expand their vocabulary range, use less common lexical items accurately, and carefully proofread their writing to eliminate basic spelling slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple or faulty complex sentences. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can cause difficulty, including missing subject pronouns, verb agreement issues, and awkward clause structures. For instance, the sentence 'Many already purchased without any research...' lacks a necessary object and subject integration. Another error appears in 'due to this can loose their money', which misuses modal and verb constructions. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent at the start of clauses and sentences. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater variety of complex sentence forms with good control over verb tenses, articles, prepositions, and clause boundaries to ensure that sentences are consistently accurate.

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

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