Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-19

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)

I think this is a negative development because using wrong medications might have negative consequences on the overall well-being of a person and have negative effects on the overall health sector of a nation.

Trying alternative medicaions and treatments, which are not suitable for the person, have adverse effect on the overall well-being of a person because other doctor does not have the full medical history of that person. By taking medication that might resolve ongoing health issue but induces other issues, people would suffer severely, which would give them long time sufferings. For example, a person who consumes medications, that have side effects of inducing chronic diseases for that person, can have cardiovescular diseases in the long run.

Moreover, this kind of trend is detrimental to the health sector of a country because one person can introduce. Although it seems like a personal choice to try other medicines and treatments, it induces a major concern for a nation if most of the people are inclined to take treatments from a person who is not a certified practitioner. For example, majority of the rural people of Bangladesh tend to visit quack whenever they suffer from a health related issue. As a result, most of the time they are having wrong treatments which ultimately leads to severe diseases.

In conclusion, I think that trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor is a negative development because of the lack of medical history that is known to the doctor regarding the person and it also induces larger health-related concern for a nation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the opening and conclusion: you consider replacing a usual doctor with alternative treatment a negative development. You give two relevant reasons—possible harm to an individual and wider consequences for a country—and support them with examples, including the rural Bangladesh example. This addresses the task and provides a relevant line of argument. However, the first example is hypothetical and its link between a treatment’s side effects and chronic cardiovascular disease is asserted rather than explained. The national-health argument is also less fully developed, particularly the unclear phrase “one person can introduce.” To strengthen the response, explain the mechanisms behind each consequence and make the examples more precise and directly connected to the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and the conclusion restates the position. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Although,” and “As a result” help show the relationship between ideas. The progression is generally easy to follow, but some connections are mechanical or unclear. In particular, “because one person can introduce” leaves the reader unsure what is being introduced, and the contrast beginning “Although it seems like a personal choice” does not lead smoothly into the main point. The conclusion repeats the two reasons without sharpening their relationship. Use clearer referencing and develop each paragraph through a more explicit sequence of claim, explanation, and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt some topic-appropriate vocabulary, including “adverse effect,” “medical history,” “certified practitioner,” and “detrimental,” which helps communicate your concerns. However, the range is not consistently controlled, and several noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision. “Long time sufferings” is not a natural expression, while “cardiovescular” is misspelled and “quack” is informal and potentially imprecise in this context. Repeating “negative,” “overall,” and “health-related” also limits flexibility. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and vary repeated terms; for example, describe “long-term health consequences” and refer to “unlicensed practitioners” where that is what you mean.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple statements and more complex forms, including relative clauses (“which are not suitable for the person”) and a concession structure (“Although it seems like a personal choice…”). The main argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable and complex sentences are not always controlled. For example, “Trying alternative medicines and treatments … have adverse effect” has a subject–verb agreement problem and needs an article before “adverse effect.” The construction “By taking medication … people would suffer” is awkwardly formed, and “a person who consumes medications … can have” has unclear clause punctuation and structure. Review agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries, and simplify sentences when needed so that longer structures remain clear.

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.