Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-24

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 7.0)

In current times, people has become increasingly inclined towards alternative medicines and treatment options instead of consultation with their physician. Here we will argue that how this practice may adversely affect the people's health outcomes.

Although many types of alternative medicines are proven effective by research such as acupuncture or water therapy, there are many popular alternative medicines with no proven health effects. People now a days are highly influenced by social media campaigns and various other digital marketing strategies so they decide to choose alternative medicines over treatment by a qualified doctor. Besides that people are inquisitive by nature so they prefer to experiment new therapies instead of traditional treatment options. Moreover, increased to information through internet have raised many misconceptions about hazards of pharmacotherapy which has resulted in a lack of trust on traditional treatment options including allopathic as well as homeopathic medicines. This has created a good market for alternative medicines.

The use of under research therapies offered as alternative medicines may cause progression of disease or unexpected side effects which may worsen the health overtime. In addition, many alternative medicines don't employ modern diagnostics techniques therefore there is a high potential to miss a crucial diagnosis. These modern and fancy therapies or alternative medicine come at a relatively much higher price than traditional medicine. It is also observed that many patients end-up with complications and reach their usual physician after failure of alternative treatments.For instance, a women who preferred aroma therapy for her breast lump finally ended in hospital with a cancerous lesion on her breast which was the result of choosing an alternative therapy because she wanted to experiment modern therapy instead of her usual doctor.

By Contrast, the usual treatments advised by doctors are well researched and include evidence based therapies. Therefore, I strongly believe that alternative medicines have more negative outcomes than expected and must not be preferred over treatment by a doctor.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses the prompt clearly, taking a firm stance that the trend is negative. The main ideas—lack of scientific evidence, potential for misdiagnosis, and financial costs—are relevant and logically extended. The inclusion of a specific example regarding a breast lump adds depth to the argument. However, the essay could be improved by acknowledging the counter-argument more thoroughly in the body paragraphs rather than just mentioning it briefly. The position is consistent throughout, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main points. Overall, the response meets the requirements of the task well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as the influence of social media or the risks of alternative therapies. Cohesive devices like 'Moreover,' 'In addition,' and 'By Contrast' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the analysis of the trend, the risks, and the final verdict, which helps the reader follow the argument without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. You use terms like 'pharmacotherapy,' 'allopathic,' and 'lesion' effectively to discuss the topic. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'under research' (should be 'under-researched') and 'lack of trust on' (should be 'lack of trust in'). While the range is adequate to convey your ideas with precision, it lacks the more sophisticated, idiomatic collocations that would push the score into the higher bands. The spelling is mostly accurate, and the vocabulary used is relevant to the medical context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('people has become'), missing articles ('a women'), and awkward phrasing ('increased to information'). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some minor errors, such as missing spaces after periods. While you attempt complex sentences, the frequency of these small errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and article usage would significantly improve the accuracy.

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