Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-24

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)

In modern days, plenty of individuals with health isues are engaging to treat themselves by different ways, instead of going to the doctors. This is in some extent not a gratified manner to consume substituent medicine without any proper consulation with trust-worthy doctor. In this essay i would elaborate it more wisely.

First of all i would like to say although in the present there is numerous development has been in the field of medicine, it does not mean that now everyone could cure from health issues without any piece of advice from the desired doctor. There is ample number of doctors all over the world, their main concern is to treat individuals nicely, in a satisfied way, because they spend their part of life in practicing different illness and their solution. Additionally, a health care person is not just an ordinary one, he has been from different steps to get a proper certification of his work. For instance, in Africa and other under developed coutries, they don't have such bright doctor, that's why they they don't able to fight against their ailment without any knowledge about it.

Secondly, I would like to say that there is also ways to apply alternative if you have proper awareness about it, otherwise it would cause very serious and problematic things. For instance, in the past when there were no any sort of doctor, everyone has their own ways for the treatment of diseases, since then our ways of life has been changed. Now, if anyone has a little haedche, he would goes towards doctor for consulation and for suitable presecription about the issues. Because has invest a substantial amount on that field, so i would recommed that going towards health care and dealing with disease is very appropriate for everyon instead of doing treatment at home.

In the conclusion, i would say that treating an issue without any related consulation from specific doctor is not good so it is compeltely a negative developement in my openion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you regard replacing a usual doctor with alternative treatment as negative, and the conclusion restates this view. You also give relevant reasons, especially that professional advice can help people choose suitable treatment and that using alternatives without knowledge may be harmful. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because the discussion focuses mainly on the value of doctors rather than explaining the risks and possible benefits of alternative medicines in a balanced, specific way. The examples about Africa and people seeking help for a headache are broad or unclear, so they do not strongly support the claims. Develop each reason with a precise explanation or example directly connected to alternative treatment, and keep your position explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “In the conclusion” make the stages easy to identify, and the overall position is generally traceable. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. For example, the point about doctors in Africa does not clearly connect to the claim that people should avoid alternative medicine, while the second body paragraph shifts from historical treatment to headaches and then to healthcare spending. Some linking phrases are also mechanical or do not express the relationship clearly. Organise each paragraph around one main reason, then explain and illustrate it before moving to the next point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “alternative,” “certification,” “ailment,” and “substantial amount,” and the reader can usually identify your main meaning. However, the range is limited by repeated general terms such as “doctor,” “health issues,” and “treatment,” while several inaccurate word choices or collocations make ideas unclear. For example, “engaging to treat themselves,” “not a gratified manner,” and “desired doctor” do not express the intended meaning naturally. Spelling errors such as “consulation,” “coutries,” and “developement” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of topic vocabulary and check spelling and collocations; for instance, use “seek alternative treatment” and “consult a qualified doctor.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses introduced by “although,” “because,” and “if.” This shows an effort to express relationships between ideas, but complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some passages difficult to understand. Examples include “there is numerous development has been,” “they don't able to fight,” and “he would goes towards doctor,” which contain problems with agreement, verb forms, and sentence construction. Articles and sentence boundaries are also inconsistent, as in “a little haedche” and the run-on explanation beginning “Because has invest.” Practise building accurate basic sentences first, then add one subordinate clause at a time, checking subject–verb agreement and tense.

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