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)

Recently, people are more towards exploring side. Most people who are going through some health problems are trying to find alternative medicines rather than consulting their usual doctor. I firmly believe that its a negative development as this can produce many other diseases and make a person addicted.

One significant drawback of these alternatives is that most people think that consulting a doctor is a waste of money when they can take medicines by searching online. This idea mostly comes from individuals who are financially not well or who are afraid of doctors as they might reveal the actual health problem.

For example, a person suffering from a severe miggraine takes medicine rather then asking for a help from professional. As a result, his issue might become chronic.

however I believe that this development is negative due to two main reasons. One is that a person might get new diseases after these alternatives. These diseases can be physical as well as psychological. Most of the medications that an individual take is not prescribed and can lead to negative circumtances as they do not have enough knowledge about side-effects. Every medicince has its own cure and prusing it in a wrong way can react negativily.

Another drawback for this development is that it can be adaptive and can make a person addicted to certain medications. It is proven in studies that consuming a particular thing on a regular basis will train your brain adapting it on daily basis. The same is the case with medicines. To avoid visiting the doctor most people take medications regularly till the pain is gone. For instance, a diebatic patient being unware about his or her diebaties facing symptoms and still not consulting a doctor as they believe their alternative will get them to a better solution. Therefore, they end up repeating the same medications for similar health problem.

In conclusion, mostly individuals avoid doctors due to their financial problems however, I argue that this can lead to physical and psychological issues along with the dependency.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider replacing a usual doctor with alternative treatment a negative development, and the conclusion restates this view. You give relevant reasons, including the risk of worsening an illness, side effects from unsupervised medication, and dependence. The migraine and diabetes examples help illustrate these concerns. However, some points are not fully explained or are unclear: the claim that alternatives can cause “new diseases” needs a more precise explanation, and the discussion of addiction would benefit from clarifying which medicines or patterns of use create this risk. The point about financial barriers is relevant but could be connected more directly to your overall argument and supported further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for drawbacks, and a conclusion. The main ideas generally follow a sensible order, and examples are placed near the points they support. However, progression is weakened by repetition: the view that the development is negative is stated in both the introduction and again at the start of the third paragraph. Some linking is mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “Another drawback” and “For example,” while “however” at the start of a paragraph does not clearly signal a contrast. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as in “these alternatives” and “it” in the discussion of medication. Use clearer topic sentences and links that show the precise relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “side-effects,” “chronic,” “psychological,” and “addicted,” which helps communicate the risks you have in mind. However, the range is limited in places, and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “people are more towards exploring side,” “a waste of money,” and “get them to a better solution.” Spelling errors—including “miggraine,” “circumtances,” “medicince,” and “dieabatic”—are noticeable and reduce the accuracy of the writing. Aim for precise, natural phrases such as “turn to alternative treatments” and “seek professional medical advice,” and proofread carefully for spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “when they can take medicines by searching online” and a result clause in “As a result, his issue might become chronic.” The overall meaning is usually understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “most of the medications that an individual take” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “a person might get new diseases after these alternatives” has an unclear grammatical relationship between the treatment and the outcome. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “asking for a help” and the lowercase “however” after a full stop. Review agreement, article use, and punctuation, then check that each complex sentence expresses its intended relationship clearly.

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