Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-13

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 5.0)

Previously, people always went to the doctor for their problems or treatments, but nowadays people start to find alternatives and try to avoid doctors. In my opinion. It is a development, because people can find alternatives at home but how could they avoid the side effects of that particular treatment. Previous people was not aware enough, now a days people have an access to internet or chatgpt, they start asking the cure of their problem and just buy medicine from the pharmacy. But chatgpt can not be the right everytime, what if sometime chatgpt mistakenly tell something notsuitable, who will be responsible for the consequences. For-example if one person is suffering from back pain and he asked help from internet, and got suggestions for physiotherapy. He went for physiotherapy sessions and his pain become even more severe. When ultimatley he left no option and went to the doctor. Doctor performed MRI or X-Ray and diagnosed that the same person had trochanteric bursitis. It is a condition in which physiotherapy is strictly prohibited, person should avoid even minor movements and walks for couple of weeks, untill fully recovered. Now, his issue got severe and he had to rest for almost couple of months instead of weeks and even he had to undergo surgery or steroid injections. So, problem that will resolve on its own in couple of days will lead to couple of months with strong medication. So i think people should always follow doctors prescription and advice to avoin unnecessary problemd.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt regarding alternative medicines, taking a clear negative stance by arguing that avoiding traditional doctors can lead to severe health consequences. However, the development of ideas is hampered by logical inconsistencies and a narrow focus. While the prompt asks about alternative medicines (such as herbal remedies, acupuncture, etc.), the student primarily discusses using the internet and ChatGPT for medical diagnosis and receiving physiotherapy. This represents a slight misunderstanding or misinterpretation of 'alternative medicines and treatments'. Furthermore, the position is stated somewhat confusingly ('In my opinion. It is a development, because...'). While the example of the back pain and trochanteric bursitis is detailed, it serves as a personal or hypothetical anecdote rather than fully addressing the broader societal trend of alternative medicine. Consequently, the task response falls into the Band 5 category as ideas are somewhat limited and the main topic is partially shifted towards internet diagnosis rather than alternative medicine proper.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks proper paragraphing, as it is presented as a single, massive block of text. This severely impacts the structural flow and readability of the response. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively; for instance, the student begins multiple sentences with 'So' ('So, problem that will resolve...', 'So i think people should...'). The progression of ideas is also disjointed, moving abruptly from general statements about ChatGPT to a specific narrative about a patient with back pain without transitional signposts. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'Previous people was not aware enough'. While there is a chronological sequence within the anecdote, the overall lack of paragraphs and the mechanical use of cohesive ties prevent the response from achieving a higher band score, placing it firmly at Band 5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical resource displayed is limited and repetitive. The student frequently reuses basic vocabulary, such as 'problem', 'doctor', 'treatment', and 'couple of weeks/months'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'Previous people' instead of 'People in the past', 'have an access' instead of 'have access', 'mistakenly tell something notsuitable' instead of 'give incorrect advice', and 'pain become even more severe'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but punctuation errors with capitalization ('It is a development', 'For-example') detract from the overall quality. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic narrative about the medical misdiagnosis, but it lacks the range, precision, and flexibility required for higher band levels, warranting a Band 5 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The student demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. The text consists heavily of simple and error-prone complex sentences, featuring frequent grammatical errors that often cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of structural and grammatical errors include fragment sentences ('In my opinion. It is a development, because...'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Previous people was', 'chatgpt can not be the right everytime'), missing auxiliary verbs ('what if sometime chatgpt mistakenly tell'), tense inconsistencies ('his pain become even more severe'), and run-on sentences connected incorrectly with commas. Punctuation is also problematic, with incorrect periods used inside sentences. Because complex sentences are frequently faulty and errors are highly frequent throughout the text, a Band 4.0 accurately reflects the grammatical control shown.

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

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