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)

In the current era, we have internet and AI gadgets to get the knowledge about our conditions from it, but with the time the health problems are also getting very common that visiting a doctor takes too much time, not only because of the growing number of patients but also because of the economy, so people usually try to find a cure through internet or by asking any AI chatbot. which help in saving time and money as well, but the truth is the internet and AI gadgets can never be to accurate as a doctor, and some times can be misleading too because it can tell you the other way.

One of the example I can share that the doctor tells you to not to take brufen on your periods as it is not too safe but the internet and AI chatbots will tell you that it is safe to take the brufen, which is being a less destructive thing can be bearavle. but what if you do have some serious illness and it tells you to not to worry about it, can cause you some life long damage for you health.

Therefore, what I think is you should never completely rely on your own self or the internet, it is important to have get examined once in a while by an hospital and keep in touch with a real doctor, to live a healthy life. In my opinnion, it is not a positive development, because in the growing number of people with health problem, we should always keep visiting doctors rather than trying alternative medicines and treatments because some serious illnesses like heart attacks and brain hemorrage are very common in every age of life nowadays.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you consider relying on alternative sources instead of doctors a negative development. You support this with a relevant concern that online advice may miss serious illness, and you give an example involving medication and periods. However, the response focuses mainly on internet and AI advice, while the prompt specifically asks about alternative medicines and treatments; this leaves part of the topic less fully addressed. The medication example is also difficult to assess because the contrast between a doctor’s advice and online advice is not explained in enough detail. Develop the risks and possible benefits of alternative treatments directly, and explain your example more precisely to make the argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph with an example, and a concluding position. The final paragraph returns clearly to your view, and linking expressions such as “Therefore” and “because” help show relationships between ideas. However, the first paragraph contains several different points in one long sentence, so the progression is sometimes difficult to follow. The example paragraph also moves quickly from medication advice to the possibility of serious illness without clearly connecting the two. Use shorter, more focused sentences and organise each paragraph around one main point, with a clear explanation linking evidence to your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “health problems,” “misleading,” “serious illness,” and “life long damage,” so your main meaning is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or combinations are noticeably inaccurate, which can make the reader pause. For example, “get the knowledge about our conditions from it” is an awkward way to describe seeking health information, and “less destructive thing” does not clearly express the intended point about pain relief. There are also spelling errors such as “opinnion” and “hemorrage.” Build a more precise set of health-related expressions and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “but,” and “which,” and the reader can usually understand your overall argument. However, some complex sentences are not controlled successfully, particularly the opening sentence, which joins several ideas with commas and then continues with a sentence fragment beginning “which help.” There are also errors in sentence boundaries and punctuation, as well as patterns such as “the doctor tells you to not to take” and “it is important to have get examined.” These issues sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Practise separating long sentences and checking verb forms, clause structure, and punctuation while retaining your attempts at complex grammar.

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