Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-30

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)

Health related problem are increasing day by day. Many people with health problem switching to alternative treatments and medicine instead of going to there usual doctors nowadays. In my prospective it is positive development.

As we know that the number of diseases are increasing significantly these days so that the number of researches are also increasing on these diseases and scientists are try to the provide the effective treatments. Trying alternative medicine would may be beneficial if there is no relief in the problem while taking conventional medicine. there are so many options of alternative medicine nowadays such as herbal medicine people prefer it because it has less side effects then the conventional medicine.

In todays growing world scientists have fined may alternative treatments to cure disease that remained untreated previously. such as genetic diseases these diseases can not be cured by conventional medicines. Alternatively personalize medicine is attracting significant attention because they are based on individuals genome. These medicine are made according to the genetic makeup of the patient which results in more effective treatment and have less side effects while usual doctors prescribe the same medicine to the patients with same disease.

Although alternative medicines are beneficial but it can have negative also. Because so many people start taking medicines such as ayurvedic medicine with out consulting to a doctor which may not be able to cure the disease and can delay the treatment.

In conclusion, trying alternative medicine is a useful development as it can help people to get more effective treatment with minimum side effects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the trend is positive. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of personalized medicine and herbal alternatives. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the argument regarding personalized medicine is interesting, the explanation of why it is 'positive' could be more deeply explored. The counter-argument in the fourth paragraph is a good addition, but it is brief. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully supported with more detailed examples or logical consequences. The response covers all parts of the task, but the depth of analysis remains at a mid-level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally repetitive. For instance, the transition between sentences often relies on simple structures. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall logical flow would benefit from a more sophisticated range of linking words and phrases to connect ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their opinion clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'conventional medicine', 'herbal medicine', and 'genetic makeup'. However, there are several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'fined' instead of 'found' and 'in my prospective' instead of 'in my perspective'. The range is sufficient to communicate the message, but the lack of precision and occasional errors in word formation prevent a higher score. Expanding the range of synonyms and focusing on accurate collocations would improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('number of diseases are', 'these medicine are') and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of capital letters at the start of sentences and commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, the student should focus on basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for common slips in grammar and punctuation.

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