Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22

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)

Currently, the increasing number of population suffering from health crises has raised a consiberable debates as majority of them are using other options in terms of medicines and treatment rather than being reviewed by the medicial personnel. In my opinion, i firmly believe that this is a negative development as it could be unsafe and lead to health complications.

First of all, visiting traditional methods instead of orthodox practice could be considered hazardous to the health. This stems from the fact that there is no scentific rationale, scientific analysis and experiment in these methods which could results to infection, ovedose and be regarded unsafe to their health. For example, according to a study carried out by the health experts in Lagos School of health, it was observed that majority of patient verbalised a harmful practice in traditional methods.

Furthermore, traditional medicines and treatment could lead to several health complications. This is attributed to the fact that those medicines are being used as a trial and errors which could be given as an overdose or administered inappropriately which could affect the delicate organs on the body. Subsequently, it could lead to several complications such as peptic ulcer, heart diseases, liver and kidney failures resulting to death. For instance, several people in Ijoko Community in Ogun state, Nigeria reported several aliments after visting a traditional healer instead of the Doctors.

In conclusion, i strongly agree that using alternatives measures rather than the hospital is a negative development as it could be harmful and it could complicate health issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear position that relying on alternative medicine is a negative development. The position is maintained throughout the essay. The main ideas are presented and supported with reasons and examples, such as the mention of studies at the Lagos School of Health and experiences in Ijoko Community. However, the development of ideas tends to be slightly repetitive and sometimes relies on general assertions rather than fully extended arguments. The response meets the core requirements of Task 2 by offering a clear viewpoint and supporting arguments, aligning best with a Band 6 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear overall progression with a recognizable introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'First of all', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. However, some of the cohesive relationships and referencing feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition between sentences within paragraphs occasionally lacks smooth flow, leading to a somewhat formulaic structure. Overall, the organization is coherent, fitting a Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to incorporate less common items such as 'orthodox practice', 'hazardous', and 'delicate organs'. However, there are noticeable word choice errors and typos throughout the text, such as 'consiberable debates' instead of considerable debate, 'medicial' instead of medical, and 'aliments' instead of ailments. Additionally, phrases like 'visiting traditional methods' display unnatural collocations. While these lexical errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to Band 5.5 because precision and correct collocation are lacking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, demonstrating some command over subordination and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('population... has raised', 'majority of patient verbalised'), incorrect prepositions ('visiting a traditional healer instead of the Doctors'), and awkward phrasing like 'could results to infection'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor grammatical inaccuracies cause occasional strain for the reader, placing this response firmly in the Band 5.5 category.

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