Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-13

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)

A rising amount of individuals with physical issues are making own homemade medicines and treatments rather than checking up from doctor. As far as i am concerned, i believe it is a disavantages for the people because it can lead to serious issues and people will not have any other alternatives and at last they have to die.

To begin with, there are various reasons why taking alternatives is bad habits. firstly, precaution is better than care. To explain, if alternatives do not work and we have to take more pills to cure the diseases shows more bad effects, that's why people should visit doctor in time. Secondly, It can kill us. Elaborating further, when doing on techniques on medicine and treatments can bring us to more serious problems and we can even die in this process which is very much dangerous for our health.

Although, it can have positive aspects too. The first postive side can be it saves money. To clarify, when we do not go the hospital for check up and our homemade techniques work which will benefits us financially because we do not have to spend money for check up and use it on other things or save it for future. However, it is bad to not visiting hospital. For instance, homemade medicine can only work for shorter time and will injure us more in the future.

In conclusion, it has both advantages and disadvantages but positive sides outweighs the negative sides. Regarding my opinion, I support visiting doctor in time because our diseases can be cure in short time and little amount of money will be used in first treatment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear negative view at the start, arguing that alternative treatments can cause serious harm, and you include a counterpoint about saving money. However, the position becomes inconsistent: the conclusion says the positive sides outweigh the negative ones, then immediately supports visiting a doctor. This makes your answer to the question unclear. The reasons are also mostly asserted rather than explained; for example, saying people “can even die” would be more convincing with a specific explanation of how delaying professional care could worsen an illness. Develop two relevant reasons with examples, and make sure the conclusion consistently states whether this is a positive or negative development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Your response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, body paragraphs presenting disadvantages and an advantage, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Secondly,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of your argument. However, progression is weakened by the contradiction in the conclusion and by some mechanical or unclear linking, including “Although, it can have positive aspects too” and “However, it is bad to not visiting hospital.” The relationship between the ideas in these sentences is not expressed smoothly. Use fewer formulaic transitions and make each paragraph develop one main point in a clear order, with references that show how each example supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “alternative medicines,” “treatments,” “diseases,” and “financially,” so the reader can follow the general subject. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate or unnatural expressions make parts of the argument difficult to interpret. For example, “making own homemade medicines,” “checking up from doctor,” and “doing on techniques on medicine” do not express the intended ideas naturally. There are also spelling and word-form errors such as “disavantages” and “postive.” Build a more precise set of phrases for discussing medical care, such as professional treatment, self-medication, side effects, and delayed diagnosis, and check spelling and collocations when revising.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer structures, including conditional clauses such as “if alternatives do not work” and a contrast introduced by “Although.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in basic sentence patterns occur frequently enough to affect clarity. Examples include “people should visit doctor,” “it can have both advantages and disadvantages but positive sides outweighs,” and “our diseases can be cure.” Subject–verb agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction need more consistent control. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then combine them using one clear subordinate clause at a time. Proofread specifically for articles, agreement, and the correct form of the verb after modal verbs and passive constructions.

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