Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Nowadays, a increasing number of people with health problems are trying the alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor is a negative development if we will allow this to happend every and this can put people's at risk

On the one hand alternative treatment can help people or have benefit to them. For example if a community is in a place that far from the city. If they are sick and cannot go or consult to a doctor's they can easily or have access to make a drink herbal for them to releave their symptoms. Also another example is the massage therapy, they can go to an accupunture therapy because this help them to releave stress,muscle pain and any discomfort. also maybe they are afraid to know what is their Health problem.

On the other hand, relying entirely on a alternative treatments also have consequences because a real illness should always be diagnos ,checked, assessed and prescribe treatment comes with a licensed doctors. Visiting to your doctor is the safest and positive things that you can so you can have a proper treatment and you will what are the things you can treat and so that you know what is your illness.

In conclusion Visiting or consulting to your doctor is not a waste of time or scary thing to do. Knowing what is your disease is more important than treating your illness without knowing what it is.Using an alternative treatment can only use if you know that it is safe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You take a clear negative position in the opening and conclusion, and you address both potential benefits and risks. The examples of herbal drinks for people far from a city and massage or acupuncture for stress and pain are relevant, but they are listed briefly rather than explained; the central concern about diagnosis and treatment is also repeated without a specific example. The discussion therefore only partially develops the task, and the position is less consistently supported than it could be. The response contains 236 words, so it is 14 words below the 250-word minimum; 18 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Develop each main reason with explanation or an example, and meet the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph presenting possible benefits, a paragraph explaining risks, and a conclusion. The contrast between “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” helps signal the two sides. However, progression within paragraphs is limited: several examples are added one after another without showing how they support the overall argument, and the conclusion largely repeats the opening position. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, as in “Also another example” and “and so that you know.” Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example to its point; then make the conclusion synthesise the reasons rather than restate them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “alternative treatments,” “herbal,” “massage therapy,” “acupuncture,” “diagnosed,” and “licensed doctors.” This gives the reader a basic understanding of the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “releave their symptoms,” “a real illness,” and “the safest and positive things.” Spelling errors, including “happend,” “accupunture,” and “diagnos,” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of health-related expressions and check spelling and natural combinations of words. For example, distinguish symptom relief from diagnosis and use terms such as “qualified medical professional” where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the contrastive paragraph openings help organise the argument. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and many sentences contain errors that make the reader work to understand the intended meaning. Examples include “a increasing number … is a negative development,” “if we will allow this to happend,” and “a real illness should always be diagnos, checked, assessed and prescribe treatment comes with a licensed doctors.” There are also problems with articles, agreement, verb forms, and sentence boundaries, as in “Visiting to your doctor is … things that you can so.” Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check each sentence for agreement and complete verb patterns.

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.