Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Many individuals with several health issues are exploring another medicines and treatments because due to not recovering by their family doctor. It has its postive and negative impact because trying alternative treatment medicines is risky for them and can cause lead to new various diseases. Both positive and negative development will be discussed in the following essay.

To begin with the positive development many people will get benefited with another type of medicines and treatments and a very few few peoples will move with that typr of treatments. Such as, Homeopathy because it also recovers the patient by giving differnt remedies than a modern doctors and they beleive that going with such type of treatment is cheaper and worth it then investing a huge amount of money in modern doctors. Peoples have created their mind in this way.

On the flip hand side there are its negative developements too, because such kind of treatments are requied a consistency, time and strict diet as it take a lot of time to recover. If someone is on a treatment under homeopathy or any other treatment they have to maintain a proper intake of food. Such as, they should only had what the doctors have suggested them. If they didn't listen to their doctor it can lead to serious health issues and development of new diseases in them.

In conclusion, it is clear that everyone has their own choice of selecting their medicines and treatment it has its negative and positive developments. So people should be very careful before going with such kind of treatments in their life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the question by presenting both potential benefits and risks, and your conclusion advises caution. However, the task asks whether this is a positive or negative development, and your position remains unclear: the opening calls it both positive and negative, while the conclusion says people have their own choice without deciding which side outweighs the other. The positive case is especially limited: the homeopathy example mainly says it may be cheaper and uses different remedies, without explaining when this is beneficial or how it compares with seeing a usual doctor. The risks of delay, dietary restrictions and further illness are more apparent, but need clearer explanation and support. State a definite overall view and develop each reason with a specific, relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for positive and negative points, and a conclusion. This makes the main stages easy to identify. You also use signposting such as “To begin with,” “On the flip hand side,” and “In conclusion.” However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and some linking phrases feel mechanical or inaccurate. For example, “because due to not recovering” gives overlapping explanations, while “Both positive and negative development will be discussed” announces a plan rather than advancing the argument. The conclusion repeats the two-sided position instead of resolving it. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and make the final paragraph follow logically from a consistent position.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “alternative treatment,” “remedies,” “strict diet,” and “serious health issues,” so the reader can follow the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make the writing less precise. Examples include “another medicines,” “very few few peoples,” “on the flip hand side,” and “positive and negative developements.” Some phrases are also vague, such as “created their mind in this way,” which does not clearly express the intended idea. Aim to use accurate topic vocabulary and check spelling and word forms; avoid repeating “treatment” and “people” when a more precise expression is available.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “If someone is on a treatment … they have to maintain a proper intake of food.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “because due to not recovering by their family doctor” is not a complete, well-formed explanation, and “they should only had what the doctors have suggested them” combines incompatible verb forms. In “it can lead to serious health issues and development of new diseases,” the sentence also needs clearer grammatical construction. Practise building accurate subject–verb patterns and checking tense and verb forms before adding longer clauses.

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