Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-14

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)

An increasing number of individuals are considering substitute medicines and treatments for health issue rather than visiting to their regular doctor . In my opinion , this is a negative development which can lead to health complications , mainly lack of scientific evidence and side effects caused by incorrect medicines .

One serious problem that can arise from people considering alternative medicines and treatments over getting prescription from thier regular doctor is that it can lead to various health issues . This issue arises from lack of scientific proofs , people rely on research from internet about their health problems and diseases , this assumption results into many health complications , because the treaments or type of medicines they have researched does not ensure thier recovery . For instance , people suffering from itching sensations put their research on internet and use that medicine as cure , which leads to lack of evidence and result in serious health problems .

Another issue is that people are not aware of side effects of certain medicines and treatments , this problem is caused by spread of incorrect information . Every individual has their specific body requirement , some people are strictly allergic to certain medicines . People ignore these issues in their medical treatment and in result , suffers from many side effects and allergic contents . An individual suffering from several breathing issues is mistakenly redirected to a certain medicine without examining its side effects on his body , which results in serious complications with health .

In conclusion , it has become more popular for people to try substitute treatments and medications , but it has negative affect on any person considering this as an affective solution .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider the growing use of alternative treatments a negative development. You give two relevant reasons—limited scientific evidence and the risk of side effects—and support them with examples involving itching and breathing problems. This addresses the question and provides a coherent basis for your view. However, the examples are hypothetical and remain general, so they do not fully show how these risks arise or why consulting a doctor would be safer. The conclusion restates your position but adds little synthesis. To develop the response further, explain the consequences of delaying diagnosis or treatment and extend one example with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate concerns, and a conclusion. The progression from lack of evidence to possible side effects is logical, and phrases such as “Another issue” help signal the shift between points. This gives the essay a coherent arrangement. At times, however, connections within sentences are awkward or unclear, particularly in “This issue arises from lack of scientific proofs, people rely on research from internet,” where the relationship between the ideas is not properly signposted. Some linking phrases, including “In conclusion,” are functional but basic. Use clearer sentence boundaries and refer back to ideas more precisely, so cohesion feels less mechanical and the reasoning flows smoothly within each paragraph.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “alternative medicines,” “scientific evidence,” “side effects,” “allergic,” and “complications.” These choices make your main concerns understandable, and you attempt some more specific expressions such as “itching sensations.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive: “scientific proofs” is less natural than “scientific evidence,” “put their research on internet” is unclear, and “allergic contents” does not express the intended meaning. Spelling errors such as “thier,” “treaments,” and “affective” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise range of health-related collocations and check spelling and word forms; this would make your meaning clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including explanations with “because” and examples introduced by “which.” This shows some range, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur often enough to make parts of the argument difficult to follow. For example, “people rely on research from internet about their health problems and diseases, this assumption results…” joins independent clauses with a comma. There are also errors in verb forms and agreement, as in “suffers from many side effects,” and in sentence patterns such as “rather than visiting to their regular doctor.” Improve sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement, and the construction of comparisons. More accurate control of these patterns would make your complex ideas easier to read.

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