Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-16
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)
Maintaing a good health is a basic thing for a individual but, nowadays people like to try dufferent types of medicines and treatments at home rather than consult the doctor. According to me it is a negative devolopement,
To began with, treatments and medicines we used in our daily life without prescription from doctor can owe to various other health problems and side effects that people usally ignores. Even the significant amount of dosage of a medicine is needed for particular treatment but wrong amount of treatment can also cause various health issues
Additionally, Most of the people consume medicine nd treatments without consultation because it is afforadble for them and most of health services are getting expesive nowadays so people choose to get treatment by their own which seems afordable for them and can give them temporary cure the problem they face
but it have multiple side affects too which can effect them like nuasea,dizziness and fever additionally some long term issues like kidney damage and liver damage which can create more health issues in future. precribed medicine is helpful because doctor precribe a significant amount of dosage which is helpful for specific disease or problem.
To conclude with,Medication of various diseases is getting expenive nowadays and most of the families and individual cannot afford the expense of those treatments but lack of treatment can makes the issue bigger for a individual health so more temporary relief they choose to consume medicine without even precription which can cause long term effects to their health as well so, goverment can take steps towards health services and make it affordable for the people those cannot have enough money to spend on their health.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear stance that relying on alternative medicines and home treatments is a negative development. The writer presents relevant arguments, such as the potential health risks of using medications without a prescription and the side effects of incorrect dosages. However, the ideas are somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the cost of healthcare and why people choose these methods. The arguments could have been further extended and supported with more specific examples rather than generalisations. Although the development is limited in places, the task is sufficiently addressed, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay has a basic overall structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding sentence, making it coherent overall. However, paragraphing is somewhat blurred, and the progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed. For example, transition phrases like 'To began with' and 'To conclude with' contain mechanical errors. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'and' to link clause after clause without appropriate punctuation. Referencing and referencing relationships can be unclear at times. Therefore, the organisation reflects the characteristics of Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'prescription', 'consultation', and 'affordabale'. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the response, including 'Maintaing', 'dufferent', 'devolopement', 'began' (instead of begin), 'usally', 'nd', 'afforadble', 'expesive', 'nuasea', and 'precribed'. These errors and occasional inappropriate word choices demonstrate limitations in lexical control, though communication is generally maintained, placing this at Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent errors in basic sentence structure, capitalization, and punctuation, such as run-on sentences ('...problem they face but it have multiple side affects too which can effect them...'). Subject-verb agreement issues ('treatment can also cause', 'it have multiple side affects') and incorrect prepositions are common. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, the grammar performance aligns with Band 5.0.
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