Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-12

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 my opinion, the people with health problems trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor might have a negative development in their health. Because the usual doctor has their all previous records, the doctor knows what kind of health issues might arrise depending on the medication and patients might not have clear idea on which medication would be best for them.

For a longterm patient, their doctor knows all of their previous health problems and precribes medicines according to the reports. The doctors may also predict what kind of issues or possible risk of problems the patient might have in the future. And then the doctor may suggest the best suited medicines and treatments. But if a patient frequently changes medications and tries alternative methods, then then medicines might not work for them. Rather the best suited medicines might become lethal for their health.

One example that I can share about on of my maternal aunt who is a cancer patient. She has been sick for a long time. After being regular to her doctor for some time, she changed doctors very frequently as she was getting impatient and wanted to get better sooner. She also tried some internet found methods. Due to having several changes in medication and treatments, her condition became worse than usual. Upon realising the severity and the risk of new medicines, she sought help to her primary doctor again and is getting treatments there regularly.

Therefore, I think that trying alternative treatments might backfire than actually curing a disease.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider replacing a usual doctor with alternative treatments to be negative, and the aunt’s cancer-treatment experience is relevant support. You explain why continuity of care may help a doctor understand a patient’s history, but the discussion is narrow and some claims—such as medicines becoming “lethal”—are asserted rather than explained. The conclusion restates your view without adding much development. The response also falls three words short of the 250-word minimum; the 11 words copied from the prompt are not counted. To strengthen the response, explain the risks more carefully, develop another relevant reason or example, and ensure the essay meets the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs develop the reasoning and example, and a final sentence concludes. The progression from continuity of medical records to your aunt’s experience is generally easy to follow. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. The opening “Because” creates a sentence fragment, while “And then” begins a sentence in a way that makes the sequence feel repetitive. In the example, “Due to having several changes” does not clearly identify who made the changes. Use a wider range of linking methods and make references explicit; for instance, clarify that your aunt changed doctors and treatments, then show precisely how this affected her care.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant health-related vocabulary, including “previous records,” “medication,” “treatments,” and “severity,” and the main meaning remains understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “longterm patient” and “primary doctor.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “internet found methods,” “regular to her doctor,” and “backfire than actually curing a disease.” Spelling errors such as “arrise” and “precribes” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully. For example, describe methods as “found online,” say someone “attended regular appointments,” and use “may do more harm than good” to express the final point precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if a patient frequently changes medications … then the medicines might not work.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors occur often enough to make some sentences awkward. The opening “Because the usual doctor has…” is a fragment, and “the people … might have a negative development” uses an unsuitable sentence structure. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and sentence construction, as in “the doctor knows what kind of health issues might arise” and “on which medication would be best for them.” Practise building complete sentences and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and clause connections while retaining your attempts at complex forms.

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

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