Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-08

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)

Individuals who are suffering from health problems nowadays tend to replace visiting a doctor by alternating their medicines and remedies mindlessly. I firmly believe that this practise is misleading as it can cause further damage and be very time and finance consuming.

Firstly, relaying on alternative therapies may often lead to more damage as they lack proper medical attention. Some illnesses requires professional diagnosis and conventional treatment. Delaying this can make the problem more serious. For example, someone with a bacterial infection might choose herbal remedies rather than antibiotics, which could worsen their conditions.

Furthermore, constantly switching between different medicines is very expensive in most situations, especially when the chosen replacement lacks supported medical evidence. Also, people should avoid spending a lot of time trying to find a "better" alternative to medically prescribed medicine, and have their sickness properly diagnosed with a suitable, effective cure. Moreover, professional doctors are able to deeply asses the patient's symptoms and determine the real causes of the illness rather than solely identifying the most obvious symptoms. Which makes seeking a medical advise is a safer option than experimenting with unverified replacements.

For all those reasons, I am fully convinced that a self prescribed medicine is more likely to aggravate the individual's condition instead of healing them conventionally due to the lack of medical support, the financial cost ,and the time consuming nature of this unnecessary process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response presents a clear position that the trend is negative. However, the essay fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the main arguments regarding medical safety and financial cost are relevant, they are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. The points are not fully extended, and the under-length nature of the essay prevents a more comprehensive exploration of the topic. To improve, you should aim to provide more detailed examples or counter-arguments to ensure the response is fully developed and meets the length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear central idea. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'Moreover' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by the brevity of the text. Referencing is generally clear, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall structure would benefit from a more robust introduction and a more substantial conclusion that synthesizes the main points rather than simply restating them.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing for clear communication of your ideas. You use some relevant terms like 'conventional treatment', 'bacterial infection', and 'unverified replacements'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'alternating their medicines' (instead of 'using alternative medicines') and 'finance consuming' (instead of 'costly' or 'expensive'). The range is somewhat limited, and you rely on fairly common vocabulary. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Some illnesses requires') and incorrect article usage ('a medical advise'). Additionally, there are some awkward sentence constructions, such as the fragment 'Which makes seeking a medical advise is a safer option'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to affect the overall fluency. Increasing your control over complex structures and proofreading for basic agreement and article errors will help improve your score.

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