Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 these days, a large amount of people who are suffering from major health issues are trying duplicate medicines and treatments rather than that of visiting to their usual doctors.Clearly, according to my point of views it is a negative development towards life because it plays a vital role of causing further major issues.

A high figure of people is in everyday lives which are not going along their doctors in the matter of health problem. This careless habit can casue a lot of issues. For example, if a person is suffering from a serious disease cancer and he usually goes towards a specific doctor which is specialized in this disease then he can guide him in every minor problem which is related to this disease. It is also an important factor that doctor is fully aware of his disease and in this way he should always be appointment towards him.

This happened due to lot of facts in which one major is that the people are believing on other people who are not specialist in any kind of medication. Every single person in this world has health issues of different kinds. Some have minor issue and they feel relax and fine after eating medicine. They prefer others to do same method by which they got recovery.

It has a few positive points too. For example, in terms of emergency or when a specific doctor is not available then he has no another option exceptto take alternative medicines and treatments. Some disease are minor so these can be overcomed by some specific medicines which are known by every common person.

In conclusion, although use of various other medicines and cures are sometimes helpful but it mostly can create an high level of serious problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider people replacing their usual doctor with alternative treatments a negative development, and you give relevant reasons, including the risk of relying on non-specialists. The cancer example helps illustrate why continuity with a knowledgeable doctor matters. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the claim that this habit causes “further major issues” is not explained with a specific consequence, and the point about people copying others’ recovery is difficult to connect clearly to the main argument. You also acknowledge possible benefits in emergencies and for minor illnesses, but do not explain how these affect your overall judgement. Develop each reason with a clearer explanation or example and make the comparison between risks and benefits more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, supporting paragraphs, a concession and a conclusion. Paragraphing generally separates the main negative argument from the possible advantages, and phrases such as “For example” and “In conclusion” help signal stages of the response. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The opening of the second paragraph, “A high figure of people is in everyday lives,” does not establish a clear link to the next sentence, while the paragraph about why people choose alternatives shifts between general health issues, minor illnesses and copying others. Some connections are also mechanical or imprecise. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then arrange explanation and examples in a clear sequence, with references that make it obvious what “this” or “they” refers to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to health and treatment, including “serious disease,” “specialized,” “alternative medicines,” and “emergency.” This gives you enough language to communicate the general topic and your position. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow: “duplicate medicines” does not express the intended idea, “a high figure of people” is not a natural phrase, and “appointment towards him” is unclear. There are also spelling and word-form errors, such as “casue” and “overcomed.” Build a more reliable set of common health-related expressions and check whether words combine naturally; precise, familiar phrasing is more effective than attempting an unsuitable expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a conditional example beginning “if a person is suffering from a serious disease.” This shows an effort to explain relationships between ideas rather than relying only on short statements. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and prepositions recur. For example, “people … are not going along their doctors” has an incorrect verb pattern, while “Some disease are minor” has a plural-agreement error. The sentence beginning “For example, if a person…” also becomes difficult to control as several clauses are joined together. Punctuation is inconsistent, including the missing space after “doctors.” Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly controlled subordinate clause before adding further detail.

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