Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In today's time, many people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of consulting a doctor. I considered it as a negative development . However, few people benefits positive effects but negative effects outweigh positive effects. The essay will discuss all the points with facts and arguments.

This segment of the essay, will look forward to my statement of the negative development. Firstly, treating patient with the right medicine and to give proper treatments is the job of doctor. To elaborate, many people think that it is normal cough or fever and take medicines according to their choice without visiting their usual doctor and in the future when they do not get recovered then after they decides to visit a doctor, during that time disease or virus has already increased in their body and cost of medicine become expensive as it requires more time to get healthy.

Furthermore, nowadays people thinks that it is not necessary to visit doctor because they trust remedies of AI like google, Gemini, Chatgpt more than humans. For instance, if people thinks that they have some disease or virus than instead of going to physicians they prefer to ask the AI and follow its response. This can lead to several problems like AI can also give wrong suggestion which results in increase of health problem and sometimes it can also creates death.

Conversely, sometime individuals are aware about their problems and they are experienced to use medicines and treatments as per their choice. But these cases are for few numbers of people as everyone do not have expertise in these topics. So, consulting a doctor is necessary while have any health problems.

To conclude, although few people benefits from using alternative medicines or treatments but it should not be considered by all the people as it have many side effects. Therefore, negative effects outweigh the positive ones.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout, arguing that the trend is negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention the risks of self-diagnosis and AI reliance, the arguments could be more thoroughly extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis. The introduction is a bit repetitive, and the conclusion simply restates the position without adding a final thought. To improve, ensure each body paragraph provides a more nuanced exploration of the topic rather than relying on general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is generally coherent, with a clear paragraph structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'Furthermore' and 'Conversely' to signal transitions. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and the flow between sentences can be slightly disjointed. For instance, the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph is abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is unclear, such as 'these cases' in the third paragraph, which lacks a strong link to the preceding context. Improving the variety and naturalness of your linking words will help the essay flow more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'bad', and 'problems'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'it can also creates death' and 'cost of medicine become expensive'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more academic collocations and precise terminology related to health and medical decision-making. Avoid repeating the same words frequently and try to use more sophisticated synonyms to express your ideas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the essay contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('everyone do not have', 'people thinks'), article usage, and tense consistency. For example, 'when they do not get recovered then after they decides' is grammatically incorrect and confusing. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring consistent verb tenses throughout your writing.

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