Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

well, in this modern era maintaining good lifestyle with good hygiene is not an easy task. It is generally believed that most of the individuals those are facing health issues trying substitute medicine or different health professionals rather then their usual doctor. This essay will elaborate how it is a negative development in upcoming paragraphs.

To begin with there are tremendous reasons why one profesional family doctor is good rather then alternatives. The first and foremost cause is know about medical history and problems. To explain it, a family doctor know the history of the patient and also familiar with problems of the person so they should have to take advice from family professional, who will guide them in a right way. For example, a family health professional have all information which a doctor need which is not possible for a new one during initial meetings. Hence, family doctor is good .

Along with it another prominent cause is issue becomes worsen. To expound it, when person went to new doctor sometime doctor misunderstand the situation and prescribe yhe wrong medicine, ehich can cause issue for the life of a individual. For instance, if new health professional give wrong advice to the patient then it can cause death also. As a result people should need to take advice and medicine from one doctor rather then alternatives.

In conclusion, one family doctor is best rather then trying different remidies and professionals, because it can sometimes become ife threatening.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider relying on alternative treatments instead of a usual doctor to be negative. You give two relevant reasons—family doctors know a patient’s medical history, and unfamiliar practitioners may misunderstand a condition—and include examples. However, these points are asserted rather than fully explained, and the examples are hypothetical and quite similar. The response also does not clearly distinguish alternative medicines from seeing a different health professional, although both appear in the prompt. The conclusion repeats your view but adds little. The response is three words below the required minimum, so it does not meet the task’s length requirement. Develop each reason with a more specific explanation or example, and address the risks and possible benefits of alternative treatments more directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The paragraphs each focus on a reason, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Along with it,” and “In conclusion” help show the intended sequence. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes repetitive: the second body paragraph restates that a new doctor may give wrong advice in both its explanation and example. Some linking phrases sound mechanical, and the relationship between ideas is not always clear—for example, “issue becomes worsen” does not smoothly introduce the point. The conclusion is very brief and largely repeats the introduction. Use fewer formulaic transitions and make each sentence add a distinct step to the argument, with clearer links between claim, explanation, and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “medical history,” “health issues,” “prescribe,” and “life threatening,” so the reader can follow the main argument. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “substitute medicine,” “family professional,” and “issue becomes worsen.” Spelling errors—including “profesional,” “remidies,” and “yhe”—also make the writing less controlled. Repeated use of “good,” “doctor,” and “cause” limits precision. Aim to learn common health-related collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, “alternative medicine,” “family doctor,” and “worsen a condition” express your intended meanings more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because,” “when,” and “who.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to read. Examples include “most of the individuals those are facing health issues trying,” where the relative clause and verb form are incomplete, and “a family doctor know,” which has subject–verb disagreement. Articles and sentence construction are also inconsistent, as in “when person went to new doctor.” Review basic sentence patterns, agreement, articles, and verb forms, then proofread each sentence for a complete subject and verb. More accurate control of these foundations will make your ideas clearer.

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