Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-28

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 5.0)

In recent years, a significant number people has been increased with their health issues those who using alternative medicines and treatments as well instead of getting an oppointment to their doctor for check up. In my point of view, this is rediculous to play a game with their own life, it is a negative development and i have some reasons to support my point of view.

First of all, a growing number of people those who face health problems and use different type of medicines, these people mostly are uneducated and they do not know the value of prescribe medication and their own health value as well, if they are educated people they really know about their health issues and know about how to deal with it and also now about what is value of doctor and his education about health. In short most of the people are uneducated. Second of all, a growing number of people facing a financial issues and they do not afford to much fees of doctors, they are just trying to survive in their own life and use alternative medicines just because of their low prices they dont know how much is harmfull for their own life. These complications are huge and it is a big drawback for good development and this is not right because it has a negative impact on people.

On the other hand, some people do not know from where they can get original and registered medicines because there are too much clinics and shops are working with compannies those who made alternative medicines. Government should take the steps against these comannies and fine them.

To sum up, people face health problms and use alternative medicines and treatments instead of original process, this is redicuous to use them because it effects their health and increased these problems.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate presents a clear position that the trend of using alternative medicines is a negative development. The response addresses all parts of the task by giving reasons, notably arguing that users may lack education and face financial constraints. However, the ideas are somewhat repetitive and under-developed, relying on sweeping generalisations—such as claiming that people using alternative medicines are mostly uneducated—without providing concrete, well-articulated examples. The arguments tend to loop without substantial extension. Consequently, the response aligns best with Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays some organizational structure, opening with an introductory statement of position and utilizing paragraph breaks, such as separating the main body paragraphs and conclusion. However, the overall progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing and weak cohesive devices. For instance, the transition 'Second of all' is informal and mechanically overused ('First of all... Second of all'), and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun ambiguity regarding who 'they' refers to. Paragraphing is also erratic, with the counter-argument and a concluding thought crammed awkwardly. These issues place the response at a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, with frequent word-choice and spelling errors that occasionally impede understanding. Examples include 'rediculous' (ridiculous), 'oppointment' (appointment), and 'compannies' (companies). The candidate struggles with collocation and word forms, such as 'financial issues and they do not afford to much fees' and 'how much is harmfull'. While the task is minimally served, the lexical shortcomings reflect Band 4.5 to 5.0, settling on a generous 5.0 due to the attempt at subject-specific terms like 'alternative medicines' and 'treatments'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The text contains frequent errors that cause difficulty for the reader, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('a significant number people has been increased') and run-on sentences ('First of all, a growing number of people those who face health problems and use different type of medicines...'). There is a very limited range of accurate structures, and complex sentences are consistently faulty. Punctuation is also problematic, marked by comma splices. These pervasive grammatical inaccuracies strongly place the response at Band 4.0.

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