Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-27

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)

Studies show that a growing number of people with health problems are nowadays forsaking the usual doctor visits and instead opting for alternative medicines which i find rather disturbing seeing as this is a really dangerous practice since these alternatives are in most cases not tested well enough to be considered completely safe for human use and can have a counter effect causing even more problems with the example being weird medicine mixes recommended by a certain social media creator that caused someone to have an allergic reaction which lead to a near death experience if not for the intervention of medical proffessionals

Not only that but not visiting the doctor is a recipe for disaster, doctors are not just some random people that got there by luck these are highly trained medical professionals that spent their whole lives studying every single disease know to mankind and learning every possible way to fight it so the knoledge they possess is enough of proof that you should ask them for advice and go to them to check whatever is wrong with you so forsaking that medical advice from people who used every fibre in their being to diagnose and help people and instead listening to some randoms on the internet or even those that are less educated than these doctors is highly unrational and illogical

in conclusion i truly think that this is a really negative development that could lead to a lot of problems and in extreme cases even the death of someone

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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you provide a relevant example regarding social media, the argument relies heavily on emotive language rather than a balanced exploration of why people might turn to alternative medicine. The essay is essentially one long, run-on sentence per paragraph, which hinders the depth of the argument. To reach a higher band, you should aim to structure your points into distinct, well-supported paragraphs that explore the topic with more academic distance and analytical rigor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks proper paragraphing and sentence structure. The entire response consists of only three massive, run-on sentences. This makes the progression of ideas difficult to follow. There is a lack of cohesive devices; you rely on 'not only that but' and 'in conclusion', but these are insufficient to connect the complex ideas you are attempting to express. To improve, you must use full stops to separate independent clauses and employ a wider range of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'nevertheless') to guide the reader through your argument logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. You use informal phrases like 'random people', 'randoms on the internet', and 'weird medicine mixes', which are not appropriate for an academic essay. While you demonstrate some ability to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'diagnose' and 'medical professionals', the overall range is limited. To improve, focus on using more formal, academic synonyms and avoid colloquialisms that detract from the professional tone of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The grammatical control is weak, primarily due to the lack of punctuation. The essay is composed of three extremely long sentences that contain multiple comma splices and run-on errors. For example, the first paragraph is one continuous stream of thought without a single period. While you attempt some complex structures, the lack of basic punctuation (periods, commas) makes the text difficult to parse. You need to focus on sentence boundaries and basic grammatical accuracy. Frequent errors in punctuation and sentence structure significantly impede the flow and clarity of your writing.

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