Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

This is a huge negative development. Because if you does not know from whom disease you are suffering so, how could me or that able to treat that disease by using different medicines and also without visiting their could be a high chance of risk in mental disease or different health issues.

I also have a present example in my life:

My father is very found in medicines means he like to eat different medicines than visiting to doctor to have a detail checkup. So, when every he felt pain in head or suffering from huge pain in stomach he would prefer to eat the medicine which he bought yesterday or many days later and by doing this continuously he got such health issues and he remained in hospital for about 3 to 4 days and he suffered from soo many consequences on these days and it was also a huge mental disturbing situation for whole family members and rather than this by eating soo many in these days it also caused stomach issues because every medicine holds different drawbacks and advantages so due all of this it was a very hard time for him to surpass.

After such huge problem in my life I hold a moto in my life that never do your own efficiency if you are not holding enough information about it. So, whenever you notice any type of wrong feelings in your body you need to sit up and went to the doctor to get rid off from that disease.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the trend is negative. However, the development of ideas is limited. The argument relies heavily on a single personal anecdote about the writer's father rather than exploring the broader implications of alternative medicine. The explanation of why alternative medicine is risky is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. To improve, you should broaden your scope to include general societal or medical perspectives, such as the lack of scientific regulation or the potential for delayed diagnosis, rather than focusing solely on a personal experience.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The transition between the introduction and the personal example is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used in a very basic or mechanical way (e.g., 'So, when every he felt pain'), and some sentences are difficult to follow due to awkward phrasing. The use of referencing is often unclear, making it difficult for the reader to track the argument. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and often inaccurate. There are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'found in medicines' (instead of 'fond of'), 'mental disturbing situation' (instead of 'distressing'), and 'do your own efficiency' (which is unclear). The range of vocabulary is insufficient to express complex ideas effectively. You should focus on learning common collocations related to health and medicine and practice using them in context to avoid these frequent errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

Grammatical control is weak throughout the essay. There are frequent errors in sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and tense usage, such as 'if you does not know' and 'how could me or that able to treat'. Many sentences are run-on or fragmented, which impedes clarity. While there is an attempt to use complex structures, they are almost always faulty. You need to focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of modal verbs, before attempting more complex grammatical forms.

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