Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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)

In this contemporary era, health has become a topic of considerable debate. Mostly individuals use alternative medicines, practices and treatments rather than consulting with qualified doctor for their concerned problem, while I believe that it has disadvantages that outweigh advantages, for it may cause negative effect over health. This essay discusses the both viewpoint before presenting a valid prospective.

To commence with, nowadays people prefer natural treatment over the chemical medicines. This is mainly due to concern regarding certain situations of health, a significant number of people believes these treatments have fewer side effects than conventional medicines. For example, yoga and meditation can help to reduce stress, tension, anxiety and manage minor physical disorder.

On the other hand, relying on alternative treatments instead of consulting doctors can be dangerous. The main problem is that some alternative remedies can not tested and limited scientific evidence. Consequently, people may waste both time and money on treatments that do not address the real cause of illness. More importantly, avoiding professional treatment may leads to future's negative circumstances, as delay diagnosis and treatment. For instance, someone suffering from severe stomach pain but not take it seriously or might use herbal remedies without analyzing their symptoms of disease. As a result, the illness could become difficult to treat.

In conclusion, while alternative medicines can be beneficial for minor problems, I consider their increasing use as a replacement of professional treatment to be a negative development. People always have to take suggestion and advice from an appropriate doctors whether for use natural remedies as well. If the problem is not recovered within a week then a person should definitely consult with usual doctor before any delay.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the trend is negative. The ideas are relevant, such as the risks of delayed diagnosis and the lack of scientific evidence for some alternative remedies. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the second body paragraph provides a clear example regarding stomach pain, the first body paragraph is quite brief and lacks depth in explaining why people choose these methods beyond a general mention of 'fewer side effects.' To reach a higher band, the arguments should be more consistently extended with more detailed reasoning and specific examples throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'This essay discusses the both viewpoint before presenting a valid prospective.' Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal cohesion within the first body paragraph is somewhat weak due to the limited development of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'conventional medicines,' 'herbal remedies,' and 'diagnose.' However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and minor collocation errors, such as 'mostly individuals' instead of 'most individuals,' 'future's negative circumstances' instead of 'negative future consequences,' and 'appropriate doctors' instead of 'qualified medical professionals.' The range is sufficient to communicate, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that persist throughout the text. Examples include 'discusses the both viewpoint,' 'can not tested,' 'may leads to,' and 'not take it seriously.' These errors, particularly with verb forms and subject-verb agreement, are noticeable. While they do not impede communication, they demonstrate a lack of control over more complex structures. To improve, the student should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with modal verbs and tense consistency.

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