Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-29

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)

Today's, a growing number of individuals with health related issues are trying alternatives medicines and treatments instead of visiting their often doctor. I believe that this is a positive development and i will discuss in the following paragraphs.

To commence with, trying alternative medicines and treatments are convenient. To elaborate, for basic health issues like headache, cold and fever. People can buy medicines at pharmacy there is no need to visit hospital every single time because doctors also give the same medicine such as paracetamol for fever and cold. Hospitals are always croweded people have to wait there for long time because of the shortage of staff . Moreover, nowadays mediccations at hospital are expensive everybody can not affort it due to inflation people hardly fulfill their basic needs such as food, shelter and education, through which some people prefer to do alternatives treatments to cure the problem.

Additonally, medication gives a short term relief from the problem and some people get addicted to the medicines because while making medicines they uses different types of drugs in it, whereas yoga and physical exercises are providing permanent solution of the problems. For example, a survey was conducted in the USA, which showed that individual who prefered to visit doctor for medicines and treatment always get addicted and cure for short time period

To conclude. no doubt medication provides by hospital doctors give people relief from problem but for short-term. Individuals should try other alternatives treatments like yoga, meditation and physical exercise to keep their body healthy and fit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the trend is positive. The ideas are relevant, focusing on convenience, cost, and the perceived dangers of conventional medication. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the claim that hospitals are crowded due to staff shortages is a valid point, but the argument regarding addiction to conventional medicine is a significant over-generalization that lacks nuance. While the response covers all parts of the task, the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly explored and balanced with a more critical perspective to reach a higher band. The conclusion is present but brief.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'Additionally' are used to signal the progression of ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and the flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'through which some people prefer to do alternatives treatments'. Referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the discussion of cost and the discussion of addiction is abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately, though the final conclusion is a single sentence, which is slightly underdeveloped.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'often doctor' instead of 'regular doctor' and 'alternatives medicines' instead of 'alternative medicines'. The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'inflation' and 'short-term relief', but there are also errors in word formation, such as 'croweded' and 'affort'. The range is sufficient to convey the message, but the lack of sophisticated or precise collocations limits the score. Spelling errors, while present, do not significantly impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('trying alternative medicines... are convenient'), article misuse ('a survey was conducted in the USA'), and punctuation errors (e.g., 'To conclude. no doubt'). The sentence structure is often repetitive, and some sentences are poorly constructed, such as 'everybody can not affort it due to inflation people hardly fulfill their basic needs'. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence structure prevents the essay from reaching a higher band.

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