Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-21

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 6.5)

Currently, an increasing number of individuals suffering from many diseases are opting for informal medicines and cures instead of going to their formal doctor. In my opinion, this is a negative development because it leads to an unclear diagnosis of the disease, and more often than not, it worsens a person's health condition.

One of the main problems with choosing alternative medicines and cures is that it does not identify the underlying cause of the disease. So, even though these medicines and treatments might provide a temporary symptomatic relief, they are not able to properly eliminate the root cause that is spreading the disease. For instance, a patient having herbal tea for stomach ache may not realize that it is cancer that is causing this pain until it is too late. Consequently, treating the wrong issue allows the actual disease to persist and worsen.

Similarly, most of the alternative medicines and cures are not gone through a proper clinical trial before being allowed to be prescribed. These in turn can be quite harmful to use because the effects of them have never been studied or examined on humans. So, instead of tackling the concealed problem they can merge with the disease and cause it to be more volatile. A person taking unauthorized medicines for typhoid may cause the disease to detroriate instead of curing.

In my opinion opting for alternative medicines and treatments is a highly negative development because it does not diagnose the issue and many times negatively impact the health.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: you consider replacing a usual doctor with alternative treatments negative. You give two relevant reasons—missed diagnosis and possible harm—and illustrate them with examples involving stomach pain and typhoid. This addresses the question and provides a sound basis for your view. However, the ideas are not equally developed: the first example explains how a serious condition could go undetected, while the second claim about treatments being untested and making disease “more volatile” is less clearly explained. The response also focuses on risks without acknowledging why people might choose these treatments. To strengthen the argument, explain the mechanism behind each risk more precisely and develop the examples or briefly address a counterpoint.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and the final paragraph restates your position. Linking expressions such as “One of the main problems,” “For instance,” and “Similarly” help readers follow the progression. This is a coherent arrangement, though some connections are mechanical or unclear. In the second body paragraph, “These in turn” has an uncertain reference, and the sequence from untested treatments to their effects “merging” with a disease is difficult to follow. The conclusion repeats the main points rather than drawing them together. Use more precise referencing, make the cause-and-effect links explicit, and vary how you connect supporting details to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “underlying cause,” “symptomatic relief,” “clinical trial,” and “concealed problem.” These choices show an attempt to discuss health risks beyond basic terms, and the meaning is generally understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “informal medicines,” “formal doctor,” “merge with the disease,” and “more volatile” do not express the intended ideas precisely. There is also a spelling error in “detroriate.” Repeated use of “alternative medicines and cures” limits flexibility. Choose established health-related expressions and check spelling; for example, distinguish between alternative treatments and unregulated medicines, and describe a condition as worsening or becoming more severe.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a subordinate clause in “even though these medicines … might provide” and a relative clause in “that is causing this pain.” Most sentences communicate your argument clearly, and punctuation generally supports the meaning. Some grammatical errors remain. In “most of the alternative medicines and cures are not gone through,” the passive construction is incorrect; use “do not undergo” or “have not undergone.” In “many times negatively impact the health,” the subject–verb agreement is faulty, and the article in “the health” is unnecessary in this general statement. The final sentence also shifts awkwardly from “opting” to “it.” Review passive forms, agreement, and pronoun reference while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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.