Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-20

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)

At present, a huge amount of individuals with health issues are trying traditional medicines and treatements instead of visiting their usual doctor. In my view, this trend have many negative development because when they are not understanding their health issue so they use wrong medicine instead of they check ourself with doctor.

To begin with, the advantage of this trend is that people have save money because when you are using those medicines that doctor told you so its is very expensive and same people cannot afford it. Second pros is that it is not side effect because it create for plants and other nature things. For instance, in my culture many people using traditional medicines because they say it very helpful and it cannot give any bad effect on the body.

On the other hand, it is a lot of negative impact because when a person illness they cannot find out our illness so they use wrong medicines because they cannot check yourself with doctor. Furthermore, doctor ask question about how to feel that and which part are very painfull so the doctor are understanding their illness so they write a correct medicines and also they write a test like body test or blood test so after that they feel better. For example, a bone are demage so it is not well on the alternative medicines because they check x-ray whick part is demage. As a result, they are treat a professional method.

In conclusion, I believe that the checking ourself with doctor is better that using traditonal medicines because nowadays with the help of technology check eveythings and see clearly on the computer and doctor can understand your illness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is that relying on alternative treatments instead of seeing a doctor is negative, and this is stated in the introduction and conclusion. You also give relevant reasons, especially the risk of choosing an unsuitable treatment and the value of medical tests such as X-rays and blood tests. However, the response addresses the task only partially because the positive points about cost and natural ingredients take up substantial space without being clearly connected to your overall judgement. The claim that plant-based medicines have no side effects is also too broad and unsupported. To strengthen the response, explain more fully why the risks of delaying professional diagnosis outweigh any benefits, and use a specific, plausible example to support that reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Phrases such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of your argument. However, progression within paragraphs is not always clear, and some ideas are repeated—for example, that people may not identify their illness and may use the wrong medicine. The first body paragraph introduces advantages, but the relationship between those points and your negative position is not explained. References such as “they” and “that” can also be unclear. Organise each paragraph around one main point, explain how it supports your position, and use linking expressions to show precise relationships rather than simply marking a new point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “side effect,” “blood test,” “alternative medicines,” and “professional method,” so the reader can follow the general topic. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “negative development,” “write a correct medicines,” and “body test.” Spelling errors, including “treatements,” “painfull,” and “demage,” also make the writing less clear and polished. Build a more precise set of expressions for discussing diagnosis and treatment, and check spelling carefully. For example, use “prescribe the appropriate medication” rather than “write a correct medicines,” and distinguish between “traditional remedies” and “alternative treatments” according to what you mean.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including explanations with “because” and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “this trend have,” “people have save money,” and “the doctor are understanding their illness.” Some clauses also lack a clear grammatical structure, as in “when a person illness they cannot find out our illness.” Practise building accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb, then add one subordinate clause at a time. Review subject–verb agreement, past participles, and the use of articles and pronouns before attempting longer sentences.

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