Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-18

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)

Our health is an precious and novel gift and we have to take good care of it. But few people took it for granted and do not pay full attention to their health issues. Now a days people use alternative means to treat their medical issues instead of visiting their usual doctor. I myself find it an bad habit.

First the people should not do their treatment themselves because they have a very little knowledge of medical field. For instance a person who has an high sugar level and due to which he has some anxiety. Due to unawareness he used something with high sugar content inorder to stabilze it. But this will make his case much more worst. So they must visit their doctor for proper treatment.

Second reason for not using substitute ways is that a little neglegence in some case will lead to the death of the patient. I would like to add an example that a person may have a normal chest pain from outside but who would know that it might be an signal of heart attack. And lack of proper treatment will result in the death of the patient. That is why people should visit their medical advisiour on a regular bases.

Although some people believes that smaller health problems like headache, cough and fever will be cure by old traditional ways. It is an convientient and cheaper way of treatment.

I will conclude it by saying that health is wealth and wasting it in order to save some money is not an good choice. So we must visit our doctor to live happy and healthy life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you consider replacing a usual doctor with alternative treatment a negative development, and you support this with relevant concerns about self-treatment and missed warning signs. The examples of high blood sugar and chest pain help explain the risks, while the final paragraph acknowledges why some people prefer traditional remedies. However, the discussion is uneven: the first two reasons are illustrated, but the opposing view is only briefly mentioned and not answered in detail. Some claims, such as the possibility of death, would be more convincing if you explained when alternative treatment is especially risky and distinguished it from complementary care used alongside medical advice. Develop that qualification and rebuttal more fully to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two supporting paragraphs, a concession and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “First” and “Second reason” make the main points easy to identify, and the examples generally follow the claims they support. However, progression is somewhat mechanical, and links between ideas are not always smooth. The paragraph beginning “Although some people believes” introduces a counterargument but does not clearly connect it to your position or explain why it is less persuasive. Some references, such as “it” in “stabilze it,” are unclear. Use more varied transitions and make the relationship between each claim, example and conclusion explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to health and treatment, including “alternative means,” “medical field,” “high sugar level,” and “heart attack,” so the reader can follow your main concerns. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “proper treatment” and “medical advisiour.” However, the range is limited and several word choices, collocations and spelling errors reduce precision: “novel gift,” “an bad habit,” “much more worst,” and “regular bases” are not natural or accurate in context. Repetition of “treatment,” “people” and “health” also limits flexibility. Build a more precise set of expressions for medical advice, symptoms and risks, and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional idea in “a person may have a normal chest pain … but who would know that it might be an signal of heart attack.” This shows an effort to explain cause and risk, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly with articles, agreement, verb forms and sentence construction. Examples include “an precious,” “a person … he has,” “some people believes,” and “will be cure.” The sentence beginning “For instance a person…” is also difficult to follow because its clauses are not clearly connected. Practise accurate article use and agreement, and divide long or tangled sentences into clear clauses while retaining some complex structures.

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