Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

People with certain health problems are using different kinds of medicines and treatments to cure their illness instead of relying or visiting a certified doctor. This is because they are mostly scared of visiting a professionalist and that they are going to get diagnosed with a more serious health problem. This can cause them to gamble different medicines in the hope of miraculously fixing their problems. In my view, this is a negative development because trying different alternative treatments can further damage the issue.

In the past people have been diagnosed wrongfully and were treated unfairly. This was mostly done in hospitals where they scammed people for their money. People unpuzzled this and chose to fix their health issues on their own using tried and tested methods. For example, a hospital in India wrongfully diagnosed people with cancers so they can fraud the victims for the treatment costs.

However in recent times, this issue is almost fixed with no reported incidents. People should first consult with a doctor and follow their instructions. Trying medicines and treatments that are not prescribed can raise some serious issues. The medicines have advanced over time, but they can have severe side effects which people may not be aware of. In a recent incident, a person in brazil with a heart condition ingested a homemade medicine and got a heart attack right after.

In conclusion, people should not try medicines and treatments that are not instructed by a professional doctor. They can make their problems even worse if they plan to do so. The previous fraud has now been officially addressed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider the trend negative because alternative treatments may worsen health problems. You address both the risks of self-treatment and the reasons some people distrust doctors, and the examples of a hospital in India and a person in Brazil are relevant to these points. This meets the task well, with some elements showing the fuller development expected at the next level. However, the discussion of past medical fraud is not fully connected to the claim that such incidents are now almost fixed, and the examples are asserted rather than explained or supported. Develop the reasoning more carefully—for instance, explain how unverified remedies can delay diagnosis or interact with prescribed medication.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present reasons and examples, and the conclusion restates your position. The contrast signalled by “However” also helps mark a shift in the discussion. At times, though, the progression is not fully smooth. The paragraph about past hospital fraud moves from explaining distrust to claiming the issue is almost fixed, without showing how that history supports your main argument. References such as “This” and “they” can also leave the reader unsure which idea or people are meant. Use clearer links between claims and examples, and make each paragraph’s central point explicit before developing it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “diagnosed,” “side effects,” “prescribed,” and “heart condition,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural and make parts of the argument harder to follow. For example, “professionalist” is not the appropriate term, “gamble different medicines” does not express the intended idea clearly, and “unpuzzled this” is difficult to interpret. “Fraud the victims” is also an awkward collocation. Aim for precise, natural combinations rather than unusual wording: describe people as fearing a diagnosis, experimenting with remedies, or being defrauded. This would make your meaning clearer and more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including the explanation beginning “This is because…” and the relative clause in “medicines and treatments that are not prescribed.” Most of the main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In the opening, “instead of relying or visiting” needs parallel construction (“relying on or visiting”), while “they are mostly scared … and that they are going to get diagnosed” has an awkward, unbalanced clause structure. The example about the hospital also has a tense and purpose-clause problem: “so they can fraud” does not fit the past-tense account. Review verb forms, clause structure, and prepositions, and proofread sentence boundaries and punctuation to improve accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.