Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14
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)
A significant number of people with health problems are attempting to use alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their doctors. I think it is a great negative development because doing so can make a disease more worsen and concerning.
On the one hand, many people believe that herbal or alternative treatments can solve their health problems. As a result. they may avoid visiting a qualified doctor. The main problem is that some illnesses require proper diagnosis and medical assistance. Moreover, if a person relies only on alternative medicine, the disease may continue to develop. By the time the person visits a doctor the condition may have become worsen. This can make treatment more difficult and expensive. For example, a person with serious stomach problem may use herbal remedies for several weeks instead of getting a medical check-up. If the real problem is an ulcer or another serious condition, delaying treatment can make it worse.
On the other hand, some alternate medicines are not properly tested before people start taking them. Therefore, they may not provide the expected results. In some cases, these medicines can also have some side-effects, especially when people take it without proper prescription or in higher amounts. Another problem is that people may stop taking medicines recommended by their doctors. This can reduce the effectiveness of proper treatment and slow down recovery. For instance, a person suffering from high blood pressure might stop taking prescribed medicine and use a herbal product instead. If the alternative treatment does not control their blood pressure, their health could deteriorate.
In conclusion, I believe that the growing use of alternative medicines is a negative development. Although these treatments may sometimes be helpful, avoiding doctors can delay proper treatment and may lead to ineffective or harmful results.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the task directly by taking a clear and consistent position that the trend of using alternative medicines instead of visiting a doctor is a negative development. The writer presents a well-developed argument covering both physical risks (such as worsening medical conditions) and treatment risks (such as side effects and stopping prescribed medications). Ideas are extended with relevant explanations and examples, such as the mention of stomach problems and high blood pressure. The response meets all the core requirements of Task Achievement for an Academic Task 2 essay, maintaining focus and supporting the central thesis effectively throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: the introduction outlines the writer's stance, the first body paragraph discusses delayed proper diagnosis, the second examines the dangers of untested remedies and stopping prescription drugs, and the conclusion summarizes the main points. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, there are minor punctuation issues affecting cohesion, such as a full stop used instead of a comma in 'As a result. they may avoid...'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, ensuring the overall structure is easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'qualified doctor', 'medical assistance', 'alternative medicine', and 'effectiveness of proper treatment'. There are, however, some lexical and collocation errors, notably 'make a disease more worsen' and 'become worsen', where the comparative form is misused with 'more' or applied incorrectly to an adjective. There are also slight phrasing inaccuracies like 'alternate medicines' instead of 'alternative medicines'. Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The writer attempts various complex structures using subordinate clauses, such as 'Although these treatments may sometimes be helpful, avoiding doctors can delay proper treatment...' There are, however, several grammatical errors present, particularly with comparative forms ('more worsen' and 'become worsen'), plural/singular consistency ('serious stomach problem'), and pronoun reference ('when people take it' referring back to 'medicines'). Punctuation has occasional minor flaws, but these errors rarely impede communication and the frequent error-free simple sentences demonstrate a fair degree of control.
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