Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-11

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)

These days, a rapid number of individuals with health issues are trying alternative medicines and treatments rather than visiting their usual doctor. While opinion differ regarding this development, I believe that it represent a negative development because of several compelling reasons. This essay will explore the valid reasons supporting this viewpoint in the following paragraphs.

One primary reason why I consider this trend to be negative is that it makes many adverse impact on people health. Since individuals take excessive medicines and treatments without any right guidens to improve their health, it may directly influence their health in terms of mental and physical both. If they take medicines without any standard precautions, they will face side effects of taking excessive medicines. For instance, taking a constantly medicines may lead to heart related problems such as cardiovascular system. Consequently, it may lead to serious detrimental health issue.

Another compelling reason is that it may lead to death. This is mainly because people do not have sufficient knowledge about the particular medicine and any treatments. If they do not know which medicine intake in which health problems, it can creates serious health issues. Moreover, family doctor know more about our health over us, so they give accurate suggestion to us.

In conclusion, I firmly maintain my position is that it is a negative development rather than one with adverse consequences. Not only does it influence person health, but it also may lead many side effects of excessive consumption of medicine such as heart problems, which can cause detrimental effect on people health.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that alternative medicine is a negative development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. The arguments focus heavily on the dangers of 'excessive' medicine and lack of knowledge, but they lack depth and specific, well-explained examples. The points made about 'heart-related problems' and 'death' are stated as assertions rather than being supported by logical reasoning or concrete evidence. To reach a higher band, you should expand on why people choose these alternatives and provide more nuanced arguments regarding the risks versus the potential benefits, rather than simply repeating that it is dangerous.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is a logical progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'One primary reason', 'Another compelling reason'). Additionally, some transitions are slightly awkward, such as the concluding sentence which restates the position in a way that feels disconnected from the previous arguments. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows more naturally into the next would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'a rapid number of individuals' (instead of 'a growing number') and 'makes many adverse impact' (instead of 'has many adverse impacts'). The repetition of words like 'health', 'medicines', and 'treatments' suggests a limited range. To improve, you should focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and learning common collocations related to medical topics, such as 'clinical evidence', 'professional medical advice', or 'potential health risks'.

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 subject-verb agreement issues ('opinion differ', 'it represent', 'it can creates') and incorrect word forms ('right guidens', 'taking a constantly medicines'). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in basic grammar and punctuation prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring that articles and plural forms are used correctly throughout your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.