Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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)

At present, rather than consulting the usual doctor the disease sticken people are finding alternative medicines or treatments to cure their problems and this number is increasing significantly. I believe that this trend shows severe negative impact on both the doctors and the patients.

First and foremost, this is a disrespect to all the hardworking doctors who are trying to save the lives of the people. Doctors spend almost a decade to learn proper skills and treatments so they can successfully treat their patients. This shift from doctor prescribed medicine to self found treatment could also affect the doctors financially, as the trend would increase less number of pateints would visit the doctor resulting in lower salaries. Eventually a need will arise raise their cost of treatments so a balance could be established, thus poor people who genuinly wanted treatment will loose the access to proper medical facilities.

Furthermore, continously changing your medications and treatments will have a detrimental impact on their body. Any medicine requires proper consumption to show its positive effects and curb the disease, no medicine has an immediate impact. So the patient is advised to regular checkups so the doctor can track their health performance. In addition, doctors have years of experience which they apply on the pateint every detail is measured and every risk is avoided. They take a lot of time prescribing you a medicine, amidst all this they also form a connect to the pateint so they can easily express their problems.

In conclusion, I reiterate that hopping onto alternative medicines or treatment is nota viable method to mitigate one's long term disease instead they should stick to their regular doctor as they are expert and knoe their job well. It would also save the doctors from financial trouble and relieve patients quickly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position that the trend of using alternative medicines is a negative development. Ideas are relevant, such as the potential risks to physical health and the financial impact on traditional doctors. However, some ideas are under-developed or less fully explored. For instance, the argument regarding the financial impact on doctors and subsequent rise in treatment costs is speculative and lacks sufficient extension. Similarly, the discussion on how doctors form connections with patients is somewhat superficial. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to fully extend and support all main ideas with more robust explanations and concrete examples rather than relying on generalized assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance stated in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as the impact on doctors in the second paragraph and the physiological risks to patients in the third. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For example, the transitional phrase 'First and foremost' is followed by arguments that mix professional respect with economic consequences rather than maintaining a single clear line of progression. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as seen with pronoun shifts like 'detrimental impact on their body' where the antecedent is slightly ambiguous. To achieve a higher band, the writer should ensure smoother transitions between sentences and more precise referencing throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'detrimental impact', 'mitigate', and 'viable method'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling that reflect a limited level of precision. Examples include 'disease sticken' instead of 'disease-stricken', 'doctor prescribed medicine' instead of 'prescribed medication', 'regular checkups' used awkwardly with verbs, and spelling errors like 'pateints', 'genuinly', 'loose' instead of 'lose', 'continously', 'nota', and 'knoe'. Furthermore, phrases like 'hopping onto alternative medicines' are too informal for an academic essay. To improve, the writer must expand their control of less common lexical items, refine word collocation, and eliminate spelling errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'Doctors spend almost a decade to learn proper skills... so they can successfully treat their patients.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but these rarely impede communication. Examples of errors include missing hyphens ('disease sticken'), incorrect verb agreement and punctuation in phrases like 'the trend would increase less number of pateints would visit the doctor', and awkward prepositions or article omissions such as 'is advised to regular checkups'. Complex sentences are attempted, but some lack full control. To reach the next level, the writer should increase the frequency of error-free sentences by sharpening control over subject-verb agreement, article usage, and punctuation.

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