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)

Nowadays, people with health problems are growing rapidly. Humans always have this sense of trying a home remedy instead of visiting their usual doctor, some pupil also try alternative medicines and treatments to avoid seeing their doctor. I think this would be a negative development among humans.

Alternative medicines and treatments on our own could lead to severe side effects. These side effects could worsen the associated health problem rather than being a cure. To illustrate, a person consuming paracetamol while infected with COVID-19 could have an adverse affect on their worsening health condition. Eventually, saving the fee would lead to a surcharge if the health detiorates. It's not always about the medicines , sometimes the sympathy, confidence and motivation given by doctor can lead to better health conditions.

Nevertheless, home remedy also acts as treatment which gives a positive development to the worsening health conditions. Consulting a doctor sometimes leads to severe stress of the health problem. For example, an individual suffering from cough could be cured at home by consuming hot drinks, taking steams and much more, but consulting a doctor could be stressful, suppose doctor predicts it will take 14days for it to cure , the timeline could act as stress factor. Alternative medicines could cost much less than that of doctor's prescription. Cure by themselves can help save their time, a hefty amount of money.

However, it depends on individuals health conditions. It can also be a positive development for a person that is in state of emergency, it can act as urgent support until the ambulance or doctor arrives. It depends entirely on personal preference and the situation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is stated clearly in the introduction: you consider the trend negative. You give relevant reasons, including the risk of side effects and the reassurance a doctor can provide, and you acknowledge possible benefits such as treating a mild cough at home or providing support in an emergency. However, the response only partly develops the task: the positive points are not clearly reconciled with your overall negative view, and the examples do not always establish the claims—for instance, the paracetamol and COVID-19 example is not explained accurately enough to show the specific risk. The conclusion mainly says that the choice depends on the individual, rather than reaffirming and justifying your judgement. Develop fewer points more fully and make the final position consistent with the discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate discussion paragraphs and a final paragraph. Linking expressions such as “To illustrate,” “Nevertheless” and “However” help signal examples and contrasts. However, the progression between ideas is not always clear: “Nevertheless” introduces benefits after a paragraph arguing against alternative treatment, but the relationship between that concession and your overall position is not fully explained. The final paragraph introduces emergency support without connecting it clearly to the earlier arguments. Some sentences also combine several points, making the line of reasoning harder to follow. Use each paragraph to develop one main idea, and make transitions show precisely whether you are adding a reason, conceding a point or drawing a conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “side effects,” “adverse effect,” “health condition,” “prescription” and “personal preference.” This gives you a workable range for discussing medical choices. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning unclear. “People with health problems are growing rapidly” appears to mean that the number of people is increasing, while “surcharge” does not fit the intended idea of extra medical costs. There are also spelling errors such as “detiorates,” and “some pupil” is an unsuitable expression for people generally. Aim for precise, natural phrases and check spelling; for example, distinguish between a treatment’s cost and the possible additional expense of complications.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if the health detiorates” and clauses introduced by “while” and “rather than.” These attempts show some range, and the main argument is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms recur. The opening “people with health problems are growing rapidly” does not form the intended meaning, and “some pupil also try” has a number-agreement problem. The sentence beginning “Humans always have this sense…” joins ideas with a comma where a full stop or conjunction is needed. There are also missing or misplaced articles and punctuation, as in “individuals health conditions” and “14days.” Review sentence boundaries, possessives, agreement and article use, then proofread complex sentences to ensure their parts connect correctly.

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