Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-23

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 recent years,a growing number of people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor has become increasingly common in many parts of the world.this essay will discuss the main reasons behind this trend and explain why this development is negative.

One of the primary reasons behind the increasing popularity of alternative medicine is that many people consider these treatments to be more natural and safer conventional medicines.This is because some patients are concerned about the side effects of perscription drugs,which leads them to search for herbal remedies and other traditional treatment.For instance,people suffering from minor health problems may prefer using herbal medicines because they believe that these remedies have fewer harmful effects.Another contributing factor is that alternatives treatment is cheaper and more easily than professional medical care.Consequently,they may choose alternative treatment rather than visiting professional doctors.

In my opinion this development is largely negative because relying on alternatives treatment can delay proper medical treatment.One significant impact is that people may attempt to treat serious illness without receiving an accurate diagnosis from qualified healthcare professional.Furthermore,some alternative treatments may not have sufficent scientific evidence to prove their effectiveness,which may result in patients health becoming worse.For example,a person is suffering from fewer and still relying on alternative medicines.As a result his health will be more serious.

In conclusion,the growing use of medical alternative medicine is mainly caused by side effect of conventional medicines and the preceived affordability of treatment.However I believe that this development is negative because it has several drawback that cannot be overlooked.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by discussing reasons for the trend and providing a clear opinion that it is a negative development. The ideas are relevant, such as the concern over side effects and the risk of delayed medical diagnosis. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example of a person 'suffering from fewer' (likely meaning fever) is underdeveloped and lacks clarity. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your arguments with more detailed explanations or nuanced examples to ensure the position is fully supported throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One of the primary reasons', 'Another contributing factor', and 'In conclusion'. However, there are instances where the flow is slightly mechanical or awkward, such as the opening sentence, which is a run-on and grammatically disjointed. Additionally, the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, and some transitions between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'conventional medicines', 'herbal remedies', and 'accurate diagnosis'. However, there are several errors in word choice and form, such as 'alternatives treatment' (should be 'alternative treatment'), 'more easily than' (should be 'more easily accessible than'), and 'preceived' (spelling error). These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To improve, focus on using collocations correctly and proofreading for spelling and word-form accuracy.

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 missing spaces after commas, subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'a person is suffering from fewer'), and incorrect word forms. The opening sentence is particularly problematic as it lacks a clear subject-verb structure for the entire clause. While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they occur frequently enough to keep the score in the 6.0 range. Focus on sentence construction and basic proofreading.

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