Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Self medication is becoming an alarming issue in these days. Recently, more and more people with health related symptoms are experimenting various medication and treatments and disregarding a visit to the doctor. In my firm opinion, the following behavior generates exacerbating negative implications where an individual can become ignorant of the side effects or become addictive to the wrong pills; however self medication can sometimes spare you from the heavy fees paid to the doctors.

Medicines and treatments come with their fair share of side effects. An individual consuming medicines for treating their health issues may not carry out their formal research before consumption of a capsule or drug. Hence, they are likely to be unaware of the possible side effects such as drowsiness or feeling lethargic and having mood swings owing to their treatments. This can lead them astray and initiate a vicious cycle where they might take another pill to treat this health problem, instead of visiting their doctor.

Secondly, self treatments can be addictive in nature. A doctor tends to prescribe a certain dosage of each medicine and treatment that is required for the healing purposes. Self medication on the other hand follows a free state. For instance, my friend Ali has cultivated a habit to treat himself via a painkiller every time he feels a little discomfort. His body has now programmed itself to restrict to that particular drug and developed an addiction, and there is no need to visit a doctor in this case.

On the other hand, even though self medication imposes adverse impact on an individual, it can help relieve them of a hefty amount and fees that are due on each doctor's visit. Doctors are specialized in their profession and attaining a degree in this profession is quite arduous. This explains why they charge so much and as a result a lot of people are now resorting towards self medication and treatments.

To conclude, I strongly advocate against treating yourself with any random medicine or treatment, as it comes with side effects and long term addiction that can translate onto your health in the long run. While these negative aspects are hard to ignore, it does spare an individual from extra fees and cost required for a visit to the doctor. Instead, what can done to curb this is designing a plan with a health expert once and incorporating it into the lifestyle to cater health related issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear throughout: you regard self-treatment as mainly negative, while acknowledging that it can reduce medical costs. You address both sides and support the risks with relevant explanations, including possible side effects and the example of Ali’s repeated painkiller use. This meets the task well, with ideas extended and supported. To strengthen the response further, develop the cost argument beyond explaining why doctors charge high fees: for example, clarify when self-care might be reasonable and distinguish it from replacing professional advice for serious symptoms. The final suggestion of making a plan with a health expert is relevant, but could be linked more explicitly to how it reduces the risks discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs explain risks, a contrasting paragraph considers cost, and the conclusion restates your position. Paragraphing is appropriate, and signposts such as “Secondly” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the argument. Some connections are less precise, however. In the Ali example, “there is no need to visit a doctor in this case” seems to conflict with the preceding warning about addiction, so the relationship between the example and your point needs clarifying. The conclusion’s proposed health-expert plan also arrives rather suddenly. Use referencing and transitions to show more explicitly how each example supports the central argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range and attempt some less common expressions, including “vicious cycle,” “adverse impact,” “arduous,” and “resorting.” These help convey the topic, and the meaning is generally clear. However, several choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “exacerbating negative implications,” “free state,” “restrict to that particular drug,” and “translate onto your health.” “Self medication” is also repeated often, limiting flexibility. Aim for more precise, natural phrasing and check how words combine: for instance, describe risks as “serious consequences,” and say a person may “become dependent on” a medicine. This would make your vocabulary more controlled without requiring unnecessarily complex wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including clauses introduced by “where,” “whereas,” and “even though,” and most sentences communicate the intended meaning. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “experimenting various medication” needs a preposition and a plural or uncountable form, while “what can done” is missing an auxiliary verb. In “a habit to treat himself,” the infinitive pattern is awkward, and “a certain dosage … that is required” has an unclear agreement relationship. There are also occasional article and punctuation issues, such as “the heavy fees paid to the doctors.” Review verb patterns, agreement, and sentence boundaries, then proofread for missing words; this will improve accuracy while preserving your varied sentence forms.

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