Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-15

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)

In the contemporary era, number of individual having health issues are using different methods of medicines and avoid a checkup by their usual health care provider. I firmly believe that it is a negative development because using random medicines not only makes the current problem worse but also effect the physical and mental wellbeing.

One of the most significant reasons that individual choose to use alternative medicine instead of a proper checkup is the social media publications of different product claiming herbal and organic ingredients and trap people with this discounts offers. For instance, many multivitamins brands ADs on face book and other social media platforms promotes products using fake promises to deceive the customers and sells their products which in result not only cause more damage to the health but also wastes money.

Another compelling reason is the lack of time. In this busy life schedule people are more worried about the tasks and assignments and are more focused on the career development and ignore the health and outcome many health related issues like depression, anxiety and deficiencies. For example, Many individuals daily take sleeping pills to relax mind and for resting or sleeping randomly without consulting a doctor and cause more damage to health.

To end with I completely agree that using a medicine without consulting a doctor is a negative development as it cause more serious health and mental problems. Instead of using medicines from the influence of different social media platforms its better to have a proper checkup and use the daily dose and recommended medicine respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider reliance on alternative medicines a negative development, and the conclusion restates this view. You give two relevant reasons—misleading social-media advertising and people neglecting medical advice because they are busy—and support them with examples involving supplements and sleeping pills. This addresses the question, but the discussion is uneven: the first example explains how deceptive claims can lead to harm, while the point about busy schedules and health problems is less clearly connected to choosing alternative treatments. To strengthen the response, explain more directly why people turn to these treatments instead of seeing a doctor, and develop the consequences with a specific, relevant example. Your position and main ideas are established, but not all are extended equally fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate reasons, and a conclusion. The progression from misleading advertising to lack of time is easy to follow, and phrases such as “For instance” and “Another compelling reason” help signal examples and a new point. However, some links between ideas are not fully clear. In the second body paragraph, the move from career priorities to depression, anxiety and deficiencies, and then to sleeping pills, needs a more explicit explanation of how these illustrate reliance on alternative treatment. The conclusion also repeats the central claim without adding a concise synthesis of the two reasons. Use linking language selectively and make the relationship between each claim, explanation and example explicit to create smoother progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “alternative medicine,” “herbal and organic ingredients,” “physical and mental wellbeing,” and “consulting a doctor.” These choices make the subject clear, and phrases such as “compelling reason” show an attempt to vary expression. However, several word-choice and collocation problems make the writing less natural, including “social media publications,” “trap people with this discounts offers,” and “relax mind.” There are also noticeable spelling and form issues, such as “face book,” “ADs,” and “wastes money” where the intended meaning is that money is wasted. Aim for more precise, conventional phrasing and check spelling and word forms carefully. This would make your vocabulary more accurate and flexible while preserving the clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrastive construction “not only … but also” and sentences beginning with “For instance” and “Instead of.” The main message remains understandable, but grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur in basic sentence patterns as well as longer sentences. For example, “number of individual having health issues are” has problems with articles, number and agreement; “brands … promotes” has subject–verb disagreement; and “as it cause” should agree with its subject. Some long sentences also become difficult to follow because clauses are joined without clear punctuation. Work on accurate subject–verb agreement, articles and plural forms, then divide complex ideas into shorter, correctly punctuated sentences. More reliable control of these patterns would improve clarity.

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