Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-19

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 significant number of population with health consequences are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of getting treatment by their usual doctor. From my standpoint, it is a negative development because of several reasons that will discussed in the following paragraph.

The primary reason behind my belief is that it can cause a risk of delay in proper medical treatment. This is to say that, wandering from one place to another for finding the best option can cause a delay in their treatment which can be more dangerous for them. In addition to it, there can also be risk of worsening the illness. To clarify, without proper treat at a particular time or a at a time when it is needed the most can make the case worse. For example, if a accident happens with somebody, rather than taking treatment. He is searching for a best doctor for his injury can be time consuming and harmful as well.

Furthermore, some doctors and experts may exploit them financially. What I mean is that, they can charge high fees and amount for getting treatment and medicines. For instance, a chemist is selling medicines illegally on higher rates than usual, due to people's mindset of trying alternatives. Additionally, they can have a false sense of security. That means, they can cure their illness temporarily owing to that they can feel healthy for sometime.

In conclusion, I reaffirm that changing medicines and treatments on regular basis can cause several consequences for the patients. By that they can make the case worse due to lack of proper treatment on time and more importantly this can arise a financial burden.

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. The main ideas—the risk of delayed medical treatment and the potential for financial exploitation—are relevant. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding an accident is slightly underdeveloped and lacks clarity in its phrasing. While the position is maintained throughout, the arguments could be more thoroughly explored to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points, though it introduces a slightly different focus on 'financial burden' which was not fully integrated into the main body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore,' 'In addition to it,' and 'For instance' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'In addition to it' or 'By that they can make the case worse.' Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where 'By that' does not clearly refer back to a specific antecedent. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, but the flow between sentences could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'alternative medicines,' 'financial burden,' and 'false sense of security.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'health consequences' (instead of 'health issues') and 'proper treat' (instead of 'proper treatment'). The range is sufficient for the task, but the lack of more sophisticated or precise vocabulary limits the score to a 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'will discussed' (should be 'will be discussed'), 'a accident' (should be 'an accident'), and 'on higher rates' (should be 'at higher rates'). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy. To improve, the student should focus on proofreading for basic tense and preposition errors.

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