Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-11

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)

Nowadays, an increasing number of people are choosing alternative medicines and treatments instead of consulting from regular doctor. Although, alternative medicines, may provide benefit sometimes but in many cases it can be harmful for health. In my opinion this is a negative development, practically people use it as a replacement of professional medical treatment.

One of the key advantages, of taking alternative medicine and treatments as it helps in managing minor injuries and healthcare problems. For instance, people use destress related  treatments  like meditation, yoga, therapies, which may help in daily healthcare. In addition, alternative supplements are more affordable and convenient to take as they can easily find online, nearby stores, traditional house supplements. As a result, people may find better in alternative as compared to who cannot afford frequent doctor visits.

However, taking supplements without doctor recommendation can may affect your health as some times the medicines could be under  dose or over dose. In addition, people don't understand what type of disease they were facing so they make assumptions and take medicines whatever they thinks will suits them better. For example, a person have a minimal chest pain and he take some pain killers afterwards the chest pain gradually increase to a sudden heart attack or any heart problem. In result, he/she end up in hospital and spending more money in treatments.

In a nut shell, alternative supplements can be harm for you in many cases but alternative treatments  sometimes help full for our body in dealing with minor issues. I consider the growing tendency to use it instead of visiting your usual doctors to be a negative development. People should visit usual professional doctor for better recommendation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have clearly stated your position that this is a negative development and maintained it throughout the essay. You addressed both sides of the argument by acknowledging the benefits of alternative treatments for minor issues before explaining the risks of self-diagnosis. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of why people choose alternative medicine could be more deeply explored beyond just affordability. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are more specific and that the link between your arguments and your overall position is more robustly articulated.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'However', and 'In a nut shell' to guide the reader. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the awkward phrasing 'In result' or the punctuation errors surrounding 'Although'. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used with correct punctuation will help improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'professional medical treatment', 'supplements', and 'recommendation'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'consulting from regular doctor' (should be 'consulting a regular doctor') and 'destress related treatments'. Additionally, there are some repetitive word choices. To improve, focus on learning more precise collocations and synonyms to avoid basic errors and to express your ideas with greater sophistication and accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'can may affect', 'a person have a minimal chest pain', and 'he take some pain killers'. These errors, while not completely impeding communication, are noticeable and occur frequently. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. To achieve a higher score, you need to focus on subject-verb agreement, correct modal verb usage, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately without missing articles or incorrect verb forms.

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