Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-05

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)

During this modern age when medicine has advanced alot due to the advancement in technology, there are still alot of people who use alternative medicines and treatments to deal with their health problems. According to me this a negative development as people who follow this usually give illogical views on why they do this.

Firstly, People avoid going to doctors as they believe that during the time of their ancestors they used different types of herbs and treatments to cure there sickness, people nowadays believe they can still use those methods but they fail to understand that they had much better immune system than us and pollution rate was also much lower. So people nowadays need to understand that they need to evolve with the modern time and conditions so they can stay healthy.

Secondly, it is also a negative development as people are using their own ways and medicines due to this there will be an increase in scams as people who are not qualified will suggest ways that work on them to other people and that way or medicine might not react the same with the other person. It could be fatal for the other person causing serious allergic reaction or even death. Some people could even charge money for their fabricated medicines. Recently a relative of mine was scammed by a person claiming his medicines would cure his anemia which did not work.

People should trust their doctors and medicines that they prescribe them as they have degrees.

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 two main reasons—the lack of scientific basis for traditional methods and the risk of scams—the arguments could be more thoroughly extended. For instance, the point about ancestors having better immune systems is an assertion that lacks nuance or evidence. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting points are more analytical rather than relying on generalisations. The conclusion is also very brief and does not effectively summarise the main points discussed in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly' and 'Secondly' to signal the structure. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'due to this there will be an increase in scams'. The transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is functional but lacks sophistication. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that directly supports your thesis.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on somewhat repetitive or informal phrasing, such as 'alot' (which is also a spelling error) and 'ways'. There are some attempts at more specific vocabulary like 'fabricated medicines' and 'anemia', which is positive. However, there are instances where word choice could be more academic, such as using 'illogical views' instead of 'unsubstantiated claims'. Improving your control over collocations and avoiding informal language will help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'they had much better immune system'), punctuation errors (e.g., comma splices), and spelling mistakes like 'alot' and 'there' instead of 'their'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic errors and try to incorporate more varied complex sentence structures with greater accuracy.

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

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