Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-27
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)
In recent times, many individuals are facing devastating health problems and using diffrent measures rather than consulting their conventional doctors. I consider, it is a negative trend and reasons for stating such will be going to discussed in upcoming paragraphs.
To commence with the destructive development, the first and foremost aspect is trusting a new doctor because of its low charges. In other words, In this modern era money plays a crucial role in every individual life, and in such cases people easily get reffered to a nearby open stores and hospitals without seeing the drawbacks of their medicine and under treatment fee. For instance, a survey conducted by WHO ( World Health Organization ) in 2026 revealed that more people died by consuming low quality tablets causing heart problems and cancer etc. Therefore, these stores and medical practitioners are rasing more concerns in order to live every stage of the life.
Furthermore, another point for the negative development is unavailability of better facilities. To elaborate this, in newly established medical centres every kind of professional service, including doctors and nurses is not available which occur situations related to emergencies and other services concerned with food. For example, a article was published in the famous newspaper ( The Hindustan times ) in 2026 showed that registration in local and new open hospitals increased by 60% in India when people become beware of the places available at those places. Hence, these centres are going to put an hazardous impact on the lives of people.
In conclusion, the increase in interest of individuals promoting medical expenses and building trust would raise questions for the lifespan of new born infants and as well as old aged individuals.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear negative stance on the trend of using alternative treatments instead of visiting conventional doctors. The writer attempts to support their position with ideas regarding low charges, low-quality tablets, and the unavailability of better facilities in newly established medical centres. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on sweeping generalizations and slightly confused arguments, such as conflating alternative medicine with low-cost unauthorized medical stores and confusing emergency medical facilities with food services. While all parts of the task are addressed, the ideas lack the depth and strong logical support expected at higher bands. Therefore, a Band 5.5 is appropriate for this criterion, as the position is clear but the arguments are under-developed and occasionally confusing.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is divided into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. However, cohesion at the sentence level is often mechanical and sometimes faulty. The writer uses formulaic transitional phrases such as 'To commence with the destructive development' and 'Furthermore, another point for the negative development', which feel repetitive and unnatural. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'because of its low charges' where the antecedent is ambiguous. Paragraphing is present and serves to separate main ideas, but the overall progression lacks smooth flow due to awkward transitions and lexical repetition. This performance aligns well with the Band 5.5 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical range is limited and adequate only for basic communication. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items, such as 'devastating health problems', 'conventional doctors', and 'hazardous impact', but these attempts are frequently marred by inappropriate word choice, collocation errors, or spelling mistakes. Examples include 'diffrent' instead of different, 'reffered' instead of referred, 'rasing' instead of raising, and 'become beware' instead of became aware. These errors occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band level, making a Band 5.0 a fair and accurate assessment.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing impede clarity in several places. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues, tense inconsistencies ('reasons for stating such will be going to discussed'), and preposition misuse. For instance, the sentence 'which occur situations related to emergencies' contains a misuse of the verb 'occur', and 'an article was published... showed that' lacks a relative pronoun or smooth connector. While simple sentences are generally understandable, attempts at complex structures frequently result in faulty syntax and punctuation errors. These issues place the response firmly at Band 5.0.
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