Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-10

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 6.0)

At the moment there is a developement in our society that more and more people are trying out alternative medecines and treatments. They are hoping to find a cure for their health problems this way, instead of visiting their usual doctor. I am sceptical about this growing trend and I believe that there is a potential risk to it.

When people are trying out alternative medicines instead of visiting a doctor their diseases can be treated the wrong way and get worse over time. If they do not see a doctor and trust in alternative ways of treatment there is no one regulating the prosess. A doctor went to uni and studied different diseases. He knows what he is doing but an alternative doctor do not. I see the danger, if the alternative medicines do not help the patient and the symptoms get worse. If for instance, a patient has canser and he does not visit a doctor, his symptoms will get worse and he might be dieng eventualy from them.

However, not all diseases are that dangerous and some times alternative medicines can bring the cure. A clear advantage of the alternative treatments is that it often is more accessible than seeing a doctor. In counties with no public health system visiting a doctor can be extremly expensive and the waiting times can take up to months. It can be way faster and cheaper than to reache for alternative ways to get healthy again.

In conclusion I think the trend is a negative development. If people visit a doctor they know that the knows what he is doing. A doctor can identefy dangerous diseaces and cure them. Alternative medicine might be cheape but not effective in most cases. To make sure an un identifyed disease becomes worse over time you should vistit a doctor.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you are sceptical and regard the trend as risky, and the conclusion consistently calls it negative. You address both sides by explaining the danger of delaying medical care and acknowledging that alternative treatments may be more accessible and cheaper where public healthcare is unavailable. The cancer example supports your main concern, but the discussion of possible benefits is brief and the claim that alternative treatments can “bring the cure” is not explained or supported. Some reasoning is also broad, such as the contrast between trained doctors and alternative practitioners. Develop these points with a specific example and a clearer explanation of when, if ever, alternative treatment might be appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, separate body paragraphs consider risks and a possible advantage, and the conclusion restates your position. Ideas generally progress logically, and linking expressions such as “However” and “In conclusion” help signal the shifts. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some stronger control through purposeful paragraphing. To make progression more consistently smooth, reduce repeated references to doctors and alternative treatment, and make the relationship between claims clearer. For example, the paragraph on accessibility moves from cost to waiting times and then to speed and affordability without fully explaining how these points support your overall judgement. Use more precise referencing and transitions between these ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main points, including “alternative medicines,” “symptoms,” “public health system,” and “waiting times.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, including “developement,” “medecines,” “prosess,” “canser,” and “identefy.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “bring the cure,” “reache for alternative ways,” and “the trend is a negative development” after describing it as a risk. Aim to learn accurate spellings of key health-related terms and use more precise collocations. For instance, distinguish between a treatment being accessible, effective, or affordable rather than relying on general phrases such as “get healthy again.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and longer conditional or subordinate structures, as in “If they do not see a doctor … there is no one regulating the prosess” and “If for instance, a patient has …”. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in sentence construction and agreement. For example, “an alternative doctor do not” should use a plural subject or “does not,” and “they know that the knows what he is doing” contains a faulty clause. The final sentence, “To make sure an un identifyed disease becomes worse,” also expresses the opposite of the likely intended meaning. Check subject–verb agreement, clause structure, and punctuation around introductory phrases, then proofread each sentence for whether it says what you intend.

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