Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-06

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 6.5)

There is a considerable debate about visit to doctors, some people believe that it is important to visit doctors, while others argue that health issues can be relieved by using over the counter medicines and remedies. Although alternative methods can provide a short term relieve, I believe we should consult our doctors.

On the one hand, there is an ongoing trend of taking herbal and homeopathic medications, which are substantially effective in relieving pain and treating diseases. People are finding new alternative ways to prevent the excessive use of anti-biotics and various clinical tests, which are rather expensive and laborious. For example, the public is more inclined to natural and effective ways, in order to restrict side effects of higher use of chemical compounds. In some cases, people can hardly able to get doctors' appointment on time, as a result they tend to use over the counter drugs to get immediate relieve.

On the other hand, visiting to a doctor is the most suitable approach, not only does it provide patients their personalized treatment but also helps them to prevent the use of wrong medicine, which could otherwise cause some serious consequences. Since doctors are professionals, they can give their patients specific medicine regarding to a particular disease by performing various laboratory tests, which automatically reduces the risks of anti-biotic resistance.

In my opinion, although using herbal, ayurvedic and OTC drugs are of significant use, depending entirely on alternative methods can pose serious threats. However, we should try to visit doctors whenever our body gives us alarming signs instead of ignoring it and keep trying remedies.

All things considered, though we should incline to organic treatments during the appearance of early symptoms, but if it is not recovering we should definitely visit the doctor after few days. The disadvantages of overly dependence on parallel methods outweigh its advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that alternative medicine has its place but that professional medical consultation is essential. Your ideas are relevant and generally well-developed. However, the development of your arguments could be more nuanced. For instance, while you mention that alternative methods are 'substantially effective,' you do not provide specific examples of these treatments, which would strengthen your argument. Additionally, the conclusion introduces a slight shift in your position by suggesting a compromise (using natural treatments first, then visiting a doctor), which is a good approach, but ensure your main body paragraphs consistently support this balanced view throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. You use transition signals such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'All things considered' to guide the reader through your argument. However, some cohesive devices are used mechanically, and there are instances where referencing could be smoother. For example, in the final paragraph, the sentence structure is slightly repetitive, and the use of 'but' after 'though' is redundant. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows naturally into the next would elevate your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'homeopathic,' 'anti-biotic resistance,' and 'personalized treatment.' However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors. For example, you use 'short term relieve' instead of 'short-term relief' and 'overly dependence' instead of 'over-dependence.' Additionally, 'visit to doctors' is better phrased as 'visiting doctors.' While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, you need to focus on more precise word forms and collocations to reach a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this level. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement and preposition usage, such as 'people can hardly able to' (should be 'people are hardly able to') and 'medicine regarding to' (should be 'medicine regarding'). There are also punctuation errors, such as the unnecessary comma after 'However' in the final paragraph. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb and prepositional accuracy.

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

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