Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-09

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)

I believe this is a negative development .Nowadays, many people are choosing alternative medicines instead of visiting their regular doctors . although some alternative treatments may be helpful, i believe this is a negative development when people completely depend on them

firstly, alternatives medicines may not be effective for every health problem . some people believe that herbal medicines and home remedies can cure all the disease . however serious illness often require proper medical treatment . if people avoid doctors , their health problems may become worse.

on the other hand , i understand that some people prefer alternatives medicines and treatment because they believe that they are natural and less expensive . alternatives medicines are very helpful and relief in our life but for few moments .when u are in serious or critical situation u don`t use alternative medicines . u should go to hospital and take care of proper treatment.

And other thing was in old generation that they are feared to going hospital and there expensive so they control their illness or any cut in the body so they uses alternatives treatment or some uses of herbal and make a alternative medicines . how ever they used proper carefully treatment in the hospital . The doctor should check the patient and prefer these medicines whoso diagnosis that he or she was .

in my conclusion , i believe that alternatives treatment are a negative development . people should consult qualified healthcare professionals and use alternatives treatment only when they considered they safe and appropriate

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the opening and conclusion: you consider relying on alternative treatments a negative development. You give relevant reasons, especially that serious illnesses may worsen when people avoid professional care, and you acknowledge why some people choose alternatives, such as perceived naturalness and lower cost. This addresses the main question. However, some points are not fully explained: the discussion of older generations, hospital costs and treating cuts is difficult to follow, and the claim that alternatives provide relief “for few moments” needs clarification or an example. Develop each reason with a clearer explanation and a specific illustration, and make the distinction between using complementary treatments and replacing medical care explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable overall shape: an introduction, a paragraph about risks, a discussion of why people choose alternatives, and a concluding opinion. Linking expressions such as “firstly,” “however” and “in my conclusion” help signal the direction of the argument. However, progression becomes unclear in the paragraph beginning “And other thing was in old generation,” where several ideas about fear, expense, cuts, herbal remedies and doctors are combined without clear relationships. Some transitions are mechanical, and references such as “they” and “these medicines” do not always make clear who or what is meant. Use one main idea per paragraph, connect each explanation directly to its point, and make pronoun references explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “alternative medicines,” “herbal medicines,” “serious illness” and “qualified healthcare professionals,” so the reader can identify the subject and your main concerns. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, particularly “alternative medicines/treatment.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “alternatives medicines,” “relief in our life” and “proper carefully treatment.” These sometimes make the intended meaning harder to understand. Aim for more precise expressions and check whether words fit naturally together; for example, distinguish “complementary treatments” from “replacing conventional medical care,” and use consistent, accurate forms of key terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with reasons and contrast, as in “although some alternative treatments may be helpful” and “if people avoid doctors, their health problems may become worse.” This shows an effort to connect ideas using subordinate clauses. However, control is inconsistent: errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction occur in examples such as “serious illness often require” and “they uses alternatives treatment.” Several sentences are also difficult to parse, particularly the passage about older generations and hospital treatment. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, with missing sentence boundaries and spaces before full stops. Practise building accurate subject–verb patterns and separating complex ideas into complete, clearly punctuated sentences.

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