Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-04

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 contemporary society, the number of people is increasing who have health problems and they prefer an alternative medicine like online checkup or an ayurveda medicine instead of a conventional medicine because of advancement of technology. I believe that it is a negative development. Therefore the reasons and relevant examples will be discuss in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, technology becomes advanced day by day, thus people are using internet for treatments and it can causes significant problems. First and foremost, online consultant is popular among people and they are using for treatment of disease. Nevertheless, it is not provide reliable evaluation and information regarding medicines and chronic disease. For instance, a health app which provides online health checkups and treatment but sometime it is not valid like cancer and asthma disease on the ground that doctors cannot examine virtually.

Moreover, there are also negative effect which cannot be negligible. Firstly, online consultancy is not safe because it can leak information like patients data and disease data which is very important. Consequently, it is not credibility. For example, many people use online platforms for treatment but it involves risk of privacy. In addition, some people prefer an ayurveda medicine but its effect and power is very low, hence people can take medicine longer duration and without expert observation it can cause serious problems result in death like situation.

To sum up, although people prefer online treatment due to advancement of technology, it has colossal drawbacks such as privacy issue, not provide complete care and treatment. Therefore people should rely on conventional medicine.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The ideas are relevant, focusing on the risks of online medical advice and the dangers of unmonitored alternative treatments. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'ayurveda medicine' is mentioned but not fully explored in terms of why it is inherently negative, other than the risk of prolonged use. The essay covers all parts of the task, but the depth of analysis is more characteristic of a Band 6, as some points are stated rather than thoroughly supported with detailed reasoning or nuanced examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with,' 'Nevertheless,' and 'Consequently,' though some are used mechanically or incorrectly (e.g., 'Therefore the reasons... will be discuss'). The referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'it is not credibility.' Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, which helps the reader follow the argument despite the grammatical limitations.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'death like situation,' 'not provide reliable evaluation,' and 'it is not credibility.' While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'contemporary society,' 'conventional medicine,' and 'chronic disease,' the overall control is inconsistent. The errors occasionally cause the reader to pause, but they do not prevent the main message from being understood.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('it is not provide,' 'it can causes'), missing articles, and incorrect verb forms ('will be discuss'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction is often clunky, which impacts the overall fluency. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The student needs to focus on sentence construction and ensuring consistent verb tense usage.

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