Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Now health problems are increasing day by day. A increasing number of people with health problems are trying medicines and treatments instead of visiting their doctor. This is a positive development. I will discuss below.

Treatment of normal disease in home is positive development. Today, mostly people are educated. They know about the different medicines. They search on internet about the disease and its cure. If they suffer in normal type of disease like headache and fever. They treat himself in home by using medicines. They not prefer to visit the doctor. Moreover, this development play positive role in society. Visiting the doctor is very time taking and loss of money. If you go to the hospital you must wait for the doctor and spend lots of money on reciept then medicines. So, growing number of people trying alternative medicines and treatments in home. Additionally, the environment of hospitals gives you the mental stress. When you see the patients and the smell of medicines you feel suffocating.

I have medical box. When I get some wound or feel fever and headache I treat myself in my home use some ointments and pain killers. I know how to check the blood pressure or sugar. I have machines So, i check my mother blood pressure and sugar level on daily basis. If she feel unwell. I treat her. Its development avoid the rush in hospitals.

To conclude, government should aware everyone about the cure of normal disease. Government should organized a team who tells the normal people how to deal in this situation and do not panic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the trend is positive. However, the development of ideas is limited. The arguments regarding 'time and money' and 'hospital stress' are relevant but lack depth and academic support. The essay tends to over-generalize, particularly in the claim that people are 'educated' enough to self-diagnose via the internet, which ignores the risks of misdiagnosis. The conclusion introduces a new idea about government intervention rather than summarizing the main points. To improve, you should provide more nuanced analysis of the risks versus benefits of alternative treatments rather than focusing solely on personal anecdotes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between sentences is often mechanical. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Moreover', 'Additionally', 'To conclude'), they are sometimes used incorrectly or in a repetitive manner. The progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition from general statements to personal experience is abrupt. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the logical connection between the idea of 'alternative medicine' and 'treating oneself at home' is not fully established, as these are distinct concepts that the essay conflates.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and repetitive. You rely on basic terms like 'normal disease', 'good', and 'positive development'. There are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'treatment of normal disease in home' (should be 'at home') and 'receipt' (likely meant 'consultation fees'). The range of vocabulary is insufficient to express complex ideas, and there is a lack of precision in discussing medical topics. To reach a higher band, you need to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to healthcare, such as 'self-medication', 'professional consultation', 'diagnostic accuracy', and 'preventative measures'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles ('in home', 'on internet'), subject-verb agreement errors ('this development play positive role'), and incorrect verb forms ('If she feel unwell'). Sentence structures are predominantly simple or contain errors when attempting complexity. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several sentence fragments (e.g., 'If they suffer in normal type of disease like headache and fever. They treat himself in home'). A wider range of complex structures is needed, and you must focus on basic accuracy, particularly with verb tenses and prepositions.

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.