Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29

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)

Nowadays, the number of patients who shift toward trying alternative cures rather than consulting their doctors is increasing. I think this is an entirely negative approach, as these patients may face dangerous acceleration of disease progression and ignoring consulting their doctors will lead to late diagnosis.

The most dangerous impact is that these alternative medicines may worsen a disease. Some unregulated treatments may cause complications and adverse reactions. This happens when these treatments contradict with prescribed medications or the body's nature, as different dangerous chemical interactions may happen. This may accelerate disease progression and death if the patient doesn't immediately get the appropriate healthcare. For example, some patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes may turn to some herbs or diets without insulin injections, which will affect blood sugar and may cause a diabetic coma.

Furthermore, forgoing or delaying regular medical check-ups may expose patients to danger. Late diagnosis or neglecting consulting a doctor who understands the nature of disease may lead to disease progression.In medical follow-ups, doctors may request blood tests and medical imaging to follow patients' cases and update their cure, which supports early diagnosis and provides needed healthcare so any latency will make the patient end up in intensive care or facing death. For instance, if a patient has an autoimmune disease and neglects his medical check-ups and updates the prescribed medications, he will end up with harsh symptoms and in the emergency department.

In conclusion, individuals with health problems who turn to try alternative treatments rather than visiting their doctors will be exposed to dangerous impacts. These impacts are worsening their diseases as unexpected chemical interactions may happen, and delaying providing needed healthcare on time due to neglecting medical follow-ups.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position that the trend is a negative development and supporting this stance with relevant arguments. The writer identifies two main negative impacts: the potential for alternative medicines to worsen diseases through adverse reactions or interactions, and the danger of delaying necessary medical check-ups and early diagnosis. The ideas are well extended and supported with relevant examples, such as diabetic patients turning to herbs instead of insulin, and autoimmune disease sufferers facing emergency hospital visits due to missed follow-ups. The position is clear throughout, and the main tenets of Task Achievement for Band 7 are solidly met.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, starting with a clear introduction, moving through two well-supported body paragraphs addressing specific risks, and concluding with a concise summary. Cohesive devices are used adequately and appropriately, such as transitional phrases like 'The most dangerous impact', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively to separate distinct ideas, ensuring the overall progression of the argument is easy to follow, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary that allows for flexibility and precision, such as 'disease progression', 'adverse reactions', 'autoimmune disease', and 'intensive care'. There are some successful attempts to use less common lexical items with a general awareness of style and collocation. However, there are minor awkwardness issues and occasional inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as writing 'ignoring consulting their doctors' instead of 'failing to consult', or 'update their cure' rather than 'adjust their treatment'. Overall, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the message clearly, earning a solid Band 6.5 or rounding to 7.0 given the functional range demonstrated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'This happens when these treatments contradict with prescribed medications...' and 'if a patient has an autoimmune disease and neglects his medical check-ups...'. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, notably 'turn to try' instead of 'turn to trying', 'contradict with' instead of simply 'contradict', and a missing comma or run-on issue prior to 'In medical follow-ups'. However, these errors do not impede communication, and there are frequent error-free sentences, supporting a Band 6.5 score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.