Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays, a growing number of people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor.

Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In present days, a growing number of humans with health disease are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of consulting their usual doctor. I think this is the negative development in our soceity due to the several reasons, doctor have the proper knowledge about the disease and medicines also have negative impacts with their positive so it can used by consulting the doctor.

The very first reason is that the doctors have the proper knowledge about the disease and their meditations. Furthermore, many of the disease have the same symptoms which the normal patient can't recognised easily so the consulting with doctors is very important for everyone. For example, if a person had issue of the chest pain he used pain killers regularely by their own suggestions but, he had the issue of heart which they can't recognised with consulting with professional doctor. In addition, doctors had the positive impact in our socities everyone should visit their usual doctor for health issue.

The second reason is that taking medicines with own's knowledge is very harmful to our health. As we know, medicines have the negative impact as well as the positive. Methods of using medicine dose is very important. In addition, from preventing the harmful effects of the medicine we should consult with doctor for our disease and their quantity to use in a day. For example, many of the medicines have the negative impacts, if a person use sleeping dose more than a regular use it can have more negative impact then positive ones.

In conclusion, I completely thought that this really negative development. beacuse, using alternative medicines for health problems is very dangerous to our life. so we should dont preform any disrespectful act in our life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider the growing use of alternative treatments instead of seeing a usual doctor to be negative. You give two relevant reasons—doctors can identify illnesses with similar symptoms, and medicines can be harmful when used incorrectly—and the chest-pain and sleeping-dose examples help illustrate these points. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The essay focuses mainly on self-medication and does not explain clearly whether or how alternative treatments differ from ordinary medicines, or why people choose them instead of visiting their doctor. The claim that doctors have a positive impact is also not expanded. To strengthen the response, address the specific contrast in the question and explain the consequences of relying on alternative treatment rather than professional care.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate reasons, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “The very first reason,” “The second reason,” and “In conclusion” make the organisation easy to follow. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes repetitive, and linking expressions such as “In addition” are used without always adding a distinct point. Some references are unclear, particularly “their quantity to use in a day,” where the reader must infer what “their” refers to. The conclusion repeats the negative position but introduces the unclear idea of not performing a “disrespectful act.” Build clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and use pronouns and transitions more precisely so the argument develops rather than restates itself.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “symptoms,” “pain killers,” “professional doctor,” and “negative impacts,” so the reader can generally understand the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, sometimes making meaning less clear. For example, “health disease” is not a natural expression, “meditations” appears to be an incorrect choice for medicines, and “sleeping dose” does not clearly describe the medicine being discussed. Spelling errors such as “soceity,” “regularely,” and “beacuse” are also noticeable. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling; more precise terms such as “medical condition,” “medication,” and “dosage” would make the discussion clearer and more appropriate for this topic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a conditional example beginning “if a person had issue of the chest pain,” and you use clauses with “which” and “because.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries can make the reader work to understand the meaning. Examples include “many of the disease have,” “the normal patient can't recognised,” and “if a person use sleeping dose.” The opening sentence also joins several ideas with commas, creating a run-on structure. Practise forming shorter, complete sentences first, then combine them with accurate clauses. Check subject–verb agreement, past and present forms, and article use, and use full stops to separate complete ideas.

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