Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-12

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)

Nowadays, large number of people with health issues prefer alternative medicine and treatment rather than visiting their doctors. although alternative treatment help people to stay relax or revive minor symtoms. But i belove its a negative development bcause it can delay proper medical treatment and leads to serious health issues.

There are several reason that people relying on alternative treatment. one reason that some people believes natural remedies have fewer side effects as compare to conventional medicines. other thinks that its a cheaper way to cure a disease or they might had some positive experince with them in past. For example some people use herbal tea or traditional medicne to relieve a cough or improve their sleep. when used appropiately, certain complementary treatmentscan help people to feel more comfortable.

However rely on alternative treatment rsther than consulting a quilded doctore can cause a serious issue. some illness need to accurate diagnosis and specife medical treatment, which alternative remedies may not provide.if people ignore their symptoms and entirely depend on alternative treatment, their conditions may become worse over time.For instance, a person For instance, someone with persistent chest pain might try home remedies instead of seeking medical attention, potentially delaying the treatment of a serious condition. Furthermore, some alternative products may cause side effects or interact with prescribed medicines.

In my opinion, alternative treatment can be useful as a complemetary with proper conventional healthcare, provided they are safe and medically appropriate. However we cannot totally replaced with medical advice when someone has serious or persistent symptoms. Government and professional health care should provide the awarness to public about the risks of relying on treatments that lack reliable scientific evidence.

In conclusion, although alternative treatment may offer some benefits. but i believe that replacing with medical health care is negative development because it can delay diagnosis and lead to serious health complications.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you regard replacing a doctor with alternative treatment as negative, while acknowledging that some remedies may offer comfort. You address both sides and support your concern with a relevant example about persistent chest pain and delayed care. This gives the response a solid, relevant answer to the question. To make the discussion more fully developed, explain the consequences in greater detail and make the distinction between complementary use and replacing medical care more consistent throughout. The reasons people choose alternatives—cost, perceived safety and past experience—are relevant, but are listed more than explored. The conclusion restates your view, though its wording could express the central argument more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, reasons for using alternative treatments, a paragraph explaining the risks, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “However,” “For example” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main direction. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or unclear. The opening uses “although” followed by “But,” and the final paragraph repeats the contrast between benefits and risks without a smooth connection. The chest-pain example is also introduced twice (“For instance”), interrupting the flow. Improve progression by giving each paragraph one clear purpose, removing repeated material, and using pronouns and linking phrases that make relationships between ideas explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “alternative treatment,” “conventional medicines,” “side effects,” “diagnosis” and “scientific evidence.” These choices communicate the subject and show some attempt to use more specific language. However, spelling errors and inaccurate word forms are noticeable, for example “symtoms,” “experince,” “quilded” and “complemetary.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “stay relax,” “a cheaper way to cure a disease” and “provide the awareness.” These issues sometimes make the reader pause to interpret your meaning. Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common collocations for health topics, rather than relying on direct translations or approximate forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “when used appropriately” and a relative clause in “which alternative remedies may not provide.” This shows some range, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur across sentence boundaries, verb forms, agreement and articles. For example, “alternative treatment help” needs subject–verb agreement, while “some people believes” has the same issue; “it can delay … and leads” mixes verb forms. Several sentences are fragments or incorrectly joined, including “although alternative treatment help…” followed by “But…”. Capitalisation and punctuation are also unreliable. Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then check agreement and consistent verb forms before adding subordinate clauses.

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