Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-07

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 4.0)

Nowadays an increasing number of people with the health problem are chosing alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their regular doctor. im my opinion, this negative development because some alternative treatments may be ineffective and can delay proper ,medical treatment.

Another problem is that people may waste both time and money on treatments that do not work. Alought some alternative terapies can be useful for relaxation or minor problem they should not always replace professional medical care. Doctors have proper medical traning and can use tests to identify the real cause of an illness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You give a clear negative position and identify relevant concerns: alternative treatments may be ineffective, delay proper care, and waste time and money. You also acknowledge that some therapies may help with relaxation or minor problems, which adds a useful qualification. However, the response is far too brief to address the task fully: it contains 87 words, below the required 250 words, and 8 words copied from the prompt were not counted. The ideas are stated rather than developed with explanations or relevant examples, and there is no concluding summary. To strengthen the response, explain how delayed diagnosis could worsen an illness and support your points with a specific example before concluding clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The ideas are broadly relevant and follow a simple, understandable order: you state your view, then give concerns about ineffective treatment and the role of doctors. The contrast introduced by “Although” also helps show that you recognise a possible benefit of alternative therapies. However, the response is too short to establish a developed progression across paragraphs, and the relationship between wasting time and money and the later point about medical tests could be made clearer. There is no concluding sentence to bring the argument together. Use separate paragraphs for your position, supporting reasons and conclusion, and connect each reason to its explanation with clear referencing and linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “alternative medicines and treatments,” “professional medical care,” “medical training,” and “identify the real cause of an illness.” These phrases make your main concerns understandable. However, the range is limited for the task, and several spelling errors—“chosing,” “Alought,” “terapies,” and “traning”—reduce accuracy. Some wording is also imprecise, such as “the health problem” and “minor problem.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and a broader set of terms for discussing risks and evidence, such as “untested remedies,” “delay diagnosis,” and “evidence-based treatment.” Proofreading carefully would help ensure your vocabulary communicates your ideas reliably.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You communicate your main position using mostly simple sentence patterns, and you attempt a more complex contrast in “Although some alternative therapies can be useful … they should not always replace professional medical care.” This shows some ability to connect clauses. However, grammatical control is inconsistent: “im my opinion, this negative development” is missing the verb “is,” and the opening sentence has an incorrect article and plural pattern in “with the health problem.” There are also punctuation and capitalisation problems, including the lowercase “im” and the misplaced comma in “proper ,medical treatment.” Practise complete sentence structures, articles and plural forms, and check punctuation and capital letters. Adding a wider variety of accurate complex sentences would improve the response.

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