Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
In my opinion it is aviously a negative development. There are many reasions behind the thinking of my. Today we can see many people have there own medicine boxes in there houses . Every person of the house have there own medicine and treatments stuffs. All are acting like the self doctor. Maybe some time the normal medicines seems to be helpfull or not much harmfull . But it is no going to be ok all the time. Medicines are like a druge . We should not use it with out any certified doctor permision.
If we feeling any problem with our body, health , or mind we have to visit a doctor must. He will check ourselves and give us the best suggestion for our health. Being a self doctor is not good for long run because every medicine has there side efficts . Also all problems dose not need medicines every time.
If i talk about my country people there is a common theury that Paracitamal is the solution for all kind of deases . If you feeling fever you need to take it , if you feeling tired you need to take it even if you feeling like headech you need to take it . Even my family have bundles of this medicine . Also the medicine of Gastric is also quite populer among the people . They used to have it like withen every 2 or 3 days .
It is a sad reality of todays world that medicine taking is now so common like we are generally food not medicine
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your position is clear from the opening: you consider self-medication a negative development, and you give relevant reasons, including the risk of side effects and the need for a doctor’s advice. The examples about paracetamol being used for fever, tiredness and headaches, and about frequent use of gastric medicine, make the discussion specific to your country and family. However, some points are asserted rather than explained: for instance, you say medicines should not be used without a doctor’s permission but do not show what harm could result from taking the wrong medicine or delaying proper care. The conclusion also repeats the concern without fully drawing together your reasons. Develop these consequences and connect them more explicitly to your position.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable overall structure: it states a view, gives general reasons, then provides a country-specific example and a closing comment. This helps the reader follow the main argument. However, progression between ideas is sometimes loose. The first paragraph moves from medicine boxes to self-diagnosis and then to medicines as drugs without clearly showing how each point develops the previous one. Linking phrases such as “Also” and repeated “if you feeling” create a list-like effect in the example paragraph. Some references, including “it” and “this medicine,” could be clearer. Organise each paragraph around one main point and use a wider range of accurate links to show cause, contrast and consequence.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.5
You communicate the central topic using relevant basic vocabulary such as “doctor,” “medicines,” “treatments,” “side effects” and “health.” The examples also show an attempt to use topic-specific terms. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the writing less precise, including “reasions,” “helpfull,” “druge,” “deases” and “theury.” Some expressions are unnatural, such as “treatments stuffs,” “self doctor” and “medicine taking is now so common like we are generally food not medicine.” Aim to learn accurate collocations and use more precise terms for risks and medical care. Proofreading spelling and choosing natural phrases would make your meaning easier to understand.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
You use mostly simple sentences and make some attempts to connect ideas with conditional clauses, as in “If you feeling fever you need to take it.” The main message is generally understandable, but grammatical control is limited: errors occur in verb forms, agreement, articles, pronouns and sentence construction. Examples include “If we feeling,” “Every person of the house have,” “He will check ourselves,” and “all problems dose not need medicines.” There are also run-on or awkwardly joined sentences in the list of symptoms. Practise forming accurate present-tense clauses and checking that subjects and verbs agree. Then add a few controlled complex sentences to explain causes and consequences, rather than relying mainly on short statements.
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