Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05

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)

These days, it is commonly believed that a number of individuals prefer to use alternative medicines and treatments to solve their health issues rathan than visiting their usual doctor. In this essay, I will discuss whether it is a positive or negative development.

On the one hand, there are reason why individuals prefer alternative treatements is that nowadays number of applications are on internet such as chatgpt,meta AI which give right suggestions and medicines of people problem which they tell us. and aslo can make timetables of their day rutein by giving exsercice which help them to get fast relif from pain of injury. however, the second reason of this is that this is money saving for example, when pleople prefer to get treatment from doctors they spent lot of funds by paying consultancy fees which they pay on every appointment. But ai applications membership is very cost effective.

On the other hand, a few people think that it is nesassary to checkup from doctor because sometimes people have serious injury or any other health problem, which people can not cover by themselves. Moreover, they are unaware about issues which can be found only by tests or xrays, however, some times person have any serious injury like fracture which can recover by only doctor because they have study about this and equpments also.

In conclusion, although using alternative medicines and treatments rather than visiting doctors is good for solving some heath problems by using AI apps which is cost effective, but I believe that it is necessary to seek medical attention for serious ailments, such as cancer, fractures,and heart diseases because people do not have the knowledge about solving issues as doctors possess.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt partially by discussing both the positive and negative aspects of using alternative treatments and AI applications instead of seeing a doctor. However, the position is not always clearly maintained, and the ideas presented are somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the first body paragraph attempts to explain how online applications and AI tools like ChatGPT provide suggestions, day routines, and exercise plans for quick relief, but the explanation remains tangled and lacks well-supported examples. Similarly, the points regarding cost-effectiveness and the necessity of doctors for serious injuries such as fractures are mentioned briefly without deep elaboration. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to fully develop each main idea with clear, extended explanations and specific examples rather than jumping between concepts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organisation with basic paragraphing and standard transitional markers such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', but it lacks a clear overall progression. The flow of ideas within paragraphs is frequently disrupted by mechanical and inadequate cohesive devices. For example, sentences in the second paragraph are awkwardly joined by repetitive conjunctions like 'and aslo can make', 'however, the second reason of this is that', and 'But ai applications'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult to follow the logical links between arguments. To achieve a higher band, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more accurately and ensure that each sentence flows smoothly into the next with logical progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic points about healthcare and AI applications. There is an attempt to use some less common vocabulary, but this is accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of lexical issues include 'rathan' instead of 'rather', 'treatements' instead of 'treatments', 'rutein' instead of 'routine', 'exsercice' instead of 'exercise', 'relif' instead of 'relief', 'pleople' instead of 'people', 'nesassary' instead of 'necessary', 'checkup' instead of 'consultation', and 'equpments' instead of 'equipment'. To improve lexical performance, the writer must expand their working vocabulary and focus on accurate spelling and word formation, avoiding direct translations or unstable approximations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on basic patterns alongside attempts at complex sentences that are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in grammar, subject-verb agreement, articles, and punctuation throughout the text. Examples include 'there are reason why' (subject-verb agreement), 'number of applications are on internet' (missing article), 'medicines of people problem' (preposition and possessive errors), 'some times person have any serious injury like fracture which can recover by only doctor' (passive/active voice confusion and missing pluralization), and run-on sentences with incorrect comma splices. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to demonstrate greater control over complex sentence forms, ensure accurate use of articles and prepositions, and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical errors.

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