Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05

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)

As of current, an increasing amount of individuals that have health related issues are attempting various cures rather than getting a diagonis from their normal doctor. I think this is a negative development. This not only puts the persons involved at a high risk of losing their lives, but can also reduce the amount of money gained by doctors if their patient.

People who use alternative methods put themselves in so much danger. Without the proper supervision and advice given by a proper and certified doctor, various untrusted means can cause a lot of problems for people. Other methods might lead into drug abuse, worsen the issue and even death. It is most adviced for individuals to stick to the prescriptions given by their doctors.

Without their regular source of income, doctors will lose money and eventually be run out of business. Un-certified methods will render them useless to their former customers, thereby reducing their gain and leaving them poor. A lot of the methods that a patient may be pushed to use usually promise to be faster and more efficient than the normal method of going to a doctor and getting a proper diagonis. However, most times, these methods end up being more fatal than helpful. At the end of it all, the sick are put at risk and money is wasted, both for the patient and for the patient's local doctor.

In conclusion, people with health issues should not resort to any external methods outside the trusted hands of their local doctors. This will save multiple lives and ensure that the doctors in question continue having a stable source of income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against alternative medicine. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The argument regarding the financial impact on doctors is weak and arguably irrelevant to the core health-related issue, which detracts from the overall quality of the argument. While the risks of alternative medicine are mentioned, they are not supported with specific examples or detailed reasoning, leading to a repetitive discussion. To improve, you should focus on developing more substantial arguments, such as the lack of scientific evidence or the potential for delayed diagnosis of serious conditions, rather than focusing on the financial loss of medical professionals.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression from the introduction to the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. For example, the transition 'At the end of it all' is informal and slightly awkward. Additionally, some sentences lack smooth connections, making the flow feel a bit disjointed. To achieve a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the relationship between ideas is more clearly signaled through more sophisticated referencing and substitution.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several spelling errors, such as 'diagonis' (diagnosis) and 'adviced' (advised), which occur multiple times. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic terms like 'bad', 'problems', and 'money'. To improve, you should work on using more precise academic collocations and ensure accurate spelling of key terms. Using more varied and sophisticated vocabulary would help convey your ideas with greater clarity and impact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'As of current' (an incorrect idiom), 'if their patient' (incomplete thought), and 'be run out of business' (incorrect passive voice). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and word forms, such as 'most adviced'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and sentence structure would be highly beneficial.

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