Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-31

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 contemporary society, the health problems are increasing on daily bases, due to different variants of viruses. A good proportion of people believe that, treatment with organic herbs is effective and have no significant side effects. However, there are both pros and cons to this decision. In this essay, I will discuss some of the reasons why individuals avoid to visiting their doctor and

some of the challenges to be overcome.

Let's begin by looking at the advantages of use organic medicines. One of the main positives of using natural herbs is that, plants are usually chemical free. What I mean by this is that by consuming such plant base extracts, which is usually suggested by our grandparents, could have beneficial results. For

instance, the aloevera plant is useful for treating seasonal flu and dermatitis. This is a traditional way of treating routine diseases.

Secondly, individuals usually avoid to take medicines because it contains antibiotics, which eventually harm individual's immune system. For example, Doctors usually recommend the malaria patient to take antibiotics, but actually our immune system is quite capable to tackle this disease by their own.

Turning to the other side of the argument, critics raised the valid concerns, sometimes consuming such plant base extract may be hazardous. To be more precise, some toxic herbs, shrubs, weeds contains toxic compounds which may effect individual's nervous system.

All things considered. You need to weigh

up the pros of immunity development,

and the cons of the side effects of hazardous plants. Personally, I believe the benefits in terms of immunity eventually outweigh any negatives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of alternative medicine. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While you provide examples like aloe vera, the argument regarding antibiotics is scientifically questionable and lacks nuance, which weakens the overall persuasiveness. The position is clear, but the discussion of 'challenges to be overcome' in the introduction is not fully explored in the body paragraphs, leading to a slight mismatch between the introduction and the actual content. To improve, ensure that every point mentioned in your thesis statement is thoroughly developed with logical, evidence-based reasoning rather than over-generalizations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Turning to the other side of the argument' to signal transitions. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally imprecise. For example, the sentence 'All things considered. You need to weigh...' uses an informal tone and fragmented structure that disrupts the flow. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus will help elevate your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contemporary society', 'dermatitis', and 'toxic compounds'. However, there are several instances of awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'health problems are increasing on daily bases' (should be 'on a daily basis') and 'avoid to visiting' (should be 'avoid visiting'). Additionally, the phrase 'malaria patient' is used in a way that lacks precision. To achieve a higher band, focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensure that your word choices are consistently accurate in a formal context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'weeds contains toxic compounds'), incorrect verb forms after 'avoid' (e.g., 'avoid to take'), and misuse of articles (e.g., 'the aloevera plant'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence patterns and proofreading for common errors like subject-verb agreement and preposition usage. Increasing the variety of error-free complex structures will significantly improve your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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