Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-20

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 6.5)

In recent years, the approach towards treatment among individuals is changing . Today, many patients avoid consulting doctors, instead they choose alternate options to make them feel better. I believe that it is a positive approach and in this essay, I will give reasons in favor of my argument.

One of the major benefit of not visiting physicians is that it may save time, and money particularly when the ailment is not serious. It is significant because plenty of minor problems can be resolved using herbal drugs or simple home remedies. One of the common examples is treating cough or bronchospasm with ginger tea, which can instantly relief cough by soothing the throat. In this way, the cost of consultation and medicines can be avoid.

Another factor associated is that a number of healthcare professionals prescribe drugs that may treat one condition;however, these may develop some serious side effects such as, various gastric issues including: indigestion, diarrhea, and vomiting. Nowadays people are well aware of the better options that are availabe for specific conditions. For instance, opting for physiotherapy for muscle cramps or pain in place of painkillers may avoid the undesirable effects associated with allopathic drugs.

Conversely, sometimes not consulting a specialist may lead to life-threatening situations. It is attributed to the fact that patients with numerous cardiovascular or respiratory diseases need expert advice to keep them healthy and to avoid any mishap. In this scenario, the better approach is not to skip regular checkups or medicines because any negligence can lead to irreversible damage

Although a number of health complications require consultation and treatment from the professionals, plenty of minor situations can be self-treated without wasting resources, and hence some adverse effects of drugs can be avoided. From my perspective, it is a better strategy to avoid doctors as much as we can.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by taking a clear and developed position on whether using alternative medicines instead of visiting doctors is a positive or negative development. The essay presents well-considered arguments supporting the positive aspects, such as saving time and money for minor ailments with examples like ginger tea for coughs, alongside a balanced counter-argument discussing the risks associated with serious conditions. The position is maintained consistently throughout the text, and ideas are extended with relevant personal knowledge and logical reasoning. This performance aligns well with Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving from the introduction to economic benefits, side effects of allopathic drugs, potential risks, and a balanced conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'One of the major benefit' and 'Conversely', although some minor mechanical issues appear, like spacing errors around punctuation and a comma splice in 'treat one condition;however'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, ensuring the overall structure remains coherent and easy to follow. This merits a Band 6.5 or solid 7.0, with Band 7 being appropriate due to the clear logical progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for flexibility and precision, successfully employing medical and health-related terminology such as 'ailment', 'bronchospasm', 'physiotherapy', 'cardiovascular', and 'irreversible damage'. Less common items are attempted with some awareness of style, though there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as writing 'One of the major benefit' instead of 'benefits' and 'instant relief cough' where 'instant relief from cough' or 'instantly relieve' would be more accurate. Spelling and word choice errors do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably within the Band 6.5 to 7 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or participial clauses such as 'particularly when the ailment is not serious' and 'opting for physiotherapy for muscle cramps or pain in place of painkillers may avoid...'. While there are frequent error-free sentences demonstrating good control, several grammatical errors persist. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('availabe' spelling error, 'medicines can be avoid' instead of 'avoided'), missing plural forms ('benefit' instead of 'benefits'), and minor punctuation spacing errors before commas and colons. However, these errors rarely impede communication, fulfilling the criteria for Band 6.5.

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

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