Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-14

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 increasing proportion of individuals suffering from various health related sickness, in order to cure they use alternative medicines or treatments instead of visiting particular branch of doctor. I believe this is negative development, as taking a medicine or treatments without diagnosing the problem could leads to numerous health related disorders.

In this contemporary time, many individuals are try use alternative methods to cure their disease. Moreover, many follow old method like ayurvedic and other sources as it is widely serving plant based medicine. However, these medicines are not scientifically proven. At some extent it cure the disease but without any scientific evidence it is unsafe for individuals. Furthermore, there are numerous type of practice going on with out a scientific approval, such as plastic surgery , botox intake , and laser therapy which are undeniably injurious to health.

Additionally, in many destitute counties where medical facilities are not available, where individuals have to heavily relay on alternative medicine and treatments. Moreover, lack of medical professionals in destitute areas persuade local people to use alternative medical sources, but as repercussion of these are perilous. Furthermore, in many countries medical facilities are far more expensive, where , people who suffering financial instability could not afford medical attention, as result they delay their medicine and avoid visiting doctors. For an instance, in United states of America where more than 50% of people cannot afford medial expenses, to cure their sickness they mostly relay on alternative medicines and treatments.

To sum up, using alternative medicine and treatments with out doctor approval is a negative development. However, in many penniless countries use alternative method as lack of medical facilities in their country, but it is injurious to health, as it brings myriad health related disorders.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the trend is negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While you provide reasons such as the lack of scientific evidence and the risks of self-diagnosis, some points are under-developed or contain inaccuracies, such as classifying plastic surgery and Botox as 'alternative medicine.' The argument regarding destitute countries is relevant, but the connection to the main argument could be more cohesive. To improve, ensure that your supporting examples are directly relevant to the topic of alternative medicine and provide more depth to your reasoning to fully satisfy the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use cohesive devices such as 'moreover,' 'however,' and 'furthermore' to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, and the flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by grammatical errors. For instance, the transition between the discussion of destitute countries and the example of the United States is somewhat abrupt. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive markers and ensure that the progression of ideas within and between paragraphs is smoother and more natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contemporary,' 'destitute,' 'repercussion,' and 'perilous.' However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'particular branch of doctor' instead of 'medical professional' or 'general practitioner,' and 'intake' used incorrectly with Botox. Additionally, there are some spelling and phrasing issues, such as 'relay' instead of 'rely' and 'medial' instead of 'medical.' To improve, focus on learning the correct collocations for medical terminology and proofread carefully to avoid simple word-choice errors that detract from the professional tone of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'at some extent'), subject-verb agreement errors (e.g., 'it cure the disease'), and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'could leads to'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the high frequency of errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, before attempting more complex structures.

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