Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

These days some people seem to argue that a group of certain people with numerous health issues are utilising alternative remedies and treatments and avoiding to visit their routine doctor. Although I believe that using alternative medicines have some advantages. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that it is a negative development. There are certain reasons of my opinion which i wish to highlight in the essay.

In the first place, it would be quite interesting to note that it is not guranteed that investing a huge amount of money on alternative medicines and treatments will help to recover and fix people's health problems because those remedies have a lack of scientific research on them and not suitable for every individual body who consume them. One illustration for this is that it might be possible that relying completely on home remedies cause to rise further and various health consequences and affect other internal body system.

To put this issue into second perspective which needs consideration is that although there are some benefits of using alternative therapies for patients owing to these therapies such as herbal remedies, acupuncture are being made from natural ingredients and traditional method which have fewer side effects then pharmaceutical drugs. Futhermore, these are cheaper and convenient to used in mild health issues such as, stress and mild body pain. For instance, drinking a herbal tea can fix a patient pain for a while and to feel him relaxed.

In conclusion, I am convinced to say that that it is indeed a debatable issue which need further analysis and discussion. However, in the light of above-discussed arguments. I am quite safe to conclude that the advantages of considering doctor's suggestion and visiting them on routine basis are overweigh its disadvantages and far outwiegh then relying on home therapies in many aspects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, expressing a clear position from the beginning: that relying on alternative medicines instead of visiting a doctor is a negative development. Ideas are presented, such as the lack of scientific research and potential health risks, alongside counter-arguments like cost-effectiveness and natural ingredients. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or repetitive, particularly in the conclusion where multiple overlapping thoughts are expressed. The position is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a generally coherent overall arrangement with logical paragraphing separating the introduction, two body paragraphs, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'In the first place', 'To put this issue into second perspective', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and transitions are at times awkward or mechanical, such as 'To put this issue into second perspective which needs consideration is that although...', which affects the natural flow and logical progression of the writing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'alternative remedies', 'pharmaceutical drugs', and 'acupuncture'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, form, and spelling, such as 'guranteed' instead of 'guaranteed', 'avoiding to visit' instead of 'avoiding visiting', and 'convenient to used' instead of 'convenient to use'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'There are certain reasons of my opinion which i wish to highlight', 'body who consume them', and 'cause to rise further and various health consequences'. Punctuation errors also occur, such as sentence fragments in the conclusion ('However, in the light of above-discussed arguments. I am quite safe...'). While these do not completely obscure meaning, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band.

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

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