Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

These days, a large number of individuals with health issues are trying alternative medicines and treatments rather than visiting their usual doctor. While opinions 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 has many adverse impacts 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 many potential side effects of taking excessive medicines. For instance, taking constant medicines may lead to heart related problems such as cardiovascular disease. Consequently, it may lead to serious detrimental health issues.

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 create serious health issues. For example, people face many adverse consequences such as organ damage or allergic reactions. 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 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that alternative medicine is a negative development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive. The arguments focus heavily on the dangers of 'excessive' medicine rather than addressing the core issue of why people choose alternative treatments over conventional ones. While the position is maintained, the supporting points lack depth and nuance. To reach a higher band, you should explore the reasons behind the trend—such as dissatisfaction with conventional medicine or the appeal of holistic approaches—before refuting them, rather than simply stating that alternative medicine is dangerous.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs with a clear introduction and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One primary reason,' 'Another compelling reason,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by repetitive phrasing and some mechanical use of transitions. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'over us,' which disrupts the flow. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by varying the sentence structure and avoiding redundant explanations.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. There is significant repetition of words like 'health,' 'medicines,' and 'treatments.' Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'right guidens' (guidance) and 'accurate suggestion.' While the meaning is clear, the range is limited, and there is a lack of less common lexical items or idiomatic collocations that would demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the language.

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 distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('it represent,' 'family doctor know'), incorrect word forms ('mental and physical both'), and awkward phrasing ('which medicine intake in which health problems'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed with grammatical precision.

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