Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-16

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)

Thesedays, a higher number of people with health concerns are trying alternative medicinal treatment rather than consulting their family physician. In my opinion trying other ways of treatment has can put a person in serious risk. The healthcare industry has progressed considerably over the period of years and trying alternative means may cause negative impacts and risk to ones own health.

Comparing to earlier days in 1970 to 2000 there had been more of home remedies like homepathy and ayurvedic treatment that help cure even though it's a slow process. Herbs, plant roots and spicies were used to cure some illeness. Some of the diseases and illness was cured in couple of days while some had adverse effect on health. As advancement in technology improved there has been a considerable improvement in the past few decades . This has opened doors to more research and development to cure some illness like cancer. Today Cancer in a later stage for example in 3 third stage is cured through radiations and kemotherapy. Finding alternative medium increases the risk and further complication in treatment.

Furthermore, countries are also showing in the wellbeing of citizens by spending a huge amount on doctors and treatments on various sickness. Collaboration with developing countries like America, Canada and Japan have also brought in advancement in healthcare industry. Doctors consultation and monitoring the health of individual patients through regular check ups. Having their usual or family physican also helps in maintainy every patients personal history profile and treatment is given accordingly.

Therefore, I believe that a family doctor on the list would be recommended for over other means like meditation, Yoga or homeopathy doctors because they are well aware of the serious concerns people have today.

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 inconsistent. While you provide a historical context and contrast it with modern medical advancements, the argument remains a bit superficial. For instance, the transition from discussing home remedies to modern cancer treatment is a bit abrupt, and the connection to the prompt could be more explicitly linked to the risks of avoiding professional care. To reach a higher band, ensure that each paragraph directly supports your central thesis with more nuanced reasoning rather than just listing general facts about healthcare progress.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a central focus. There is a clear progression of ideas from historical context to modern medical benefits. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Comparing to earlier days' or 'Therefore, I believe that a family doctor on the list'. Some transitions between sentences feel abrupt, and the referencing (e.g., 'this' or 'these') could be more precise to improve the flow. Overall, the structure is coherent, but the management of cohesive devices needs more flexibility to achieve a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'physician', 'adverse effect', and 'collaboration'. However, there are several instances of inaccurate word choice and spelling errors that slightly impede the reader, such as 'Thesedays' (These days), 'homepathy' (homeopathy), 'spicies' (spices), 'illeness' (illness), and 'kemotherapy' (chemotherapy). Additionally, phrases like 'showing in the wellbeing' are non-standard. To improve, focus on mastering the spelling of technical terms and refining your collocations to ensure your vocabulary is used with greater precision and naturalness.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as 'trying other ways of treatment has can put' (double verb), 'Some of the diseases and illness was cured' (subject-verb agreement), and '3 third stage' (redundancy). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to limit the score. Increasing your control over basic grammatical structures and proofreading for subject-verb agreement will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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