Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-25

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)

At present, an increasing number of people are trying to cure their diseases through alternative medicines and treatments rather than going to the doctors From my perspective, it is a negative development, as there remains a possibility of blunder and it may cost anyone's life.

It is quite a trend nowadays to try to solve any medicinal problems via homemade treatments. With the advancement of technology, it has become easier to find solutions at home. For instance, if a family member is sick and has a fever, another person will be searching on google to take necessary steps for treatment. Consequently, they do not require to go to the doctor to treat the patient and their treatment cost is also saved. Notwithstanding the benefit, there is an underlying risk in this way.

Although minor diseases can be cured at home, severe problems like heart attack, stroke, cancer cannot be treated in this way. There are distinct symptoms for each diseases and initially they may seem as negligible signs. For instance, those who have heart attack have an acute chest pain in the rudimentary stage, which may be neglected as a gastric problem at home. In such cases, treatment at home is not possible and if the patient is not taken to a hospital, the patient will face death eventually. Hence, it is important to cure the severe health issues at the initial stage and merely homemade treatments are not enough for these. Doctors are the ones who can help the patients to come around.

In conclusion, I would like to state that alternative treatments instead of visiting the doctors is a negative development, as the patients may face severe problems from any slight mistake.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider replacing doctors with alternative treatment a negative development, and the conclusion maintains this view. You also address both the perceived benefit of home treatment and the danger of delaying professional care. The heart-attack example gives relevant support to your concern about misdiagnosis and serious consequences. However, the benefits paragraph focuses mainly on searching online and saving money, rather than explaining alternative medicines and treatments specifically. Some claims, such as the possibility that a patient will “face death eventually,” are stated broadly and would be stronger with careful qualification. To develop the response further, explain more precisely why people choose alternative treatments and distinguish safe complementary care from using it instead of medical advice.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs consider benefits and risks, and a conclusion restates your position. The progression from minor illnesses to potentially serious conditions is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Although,” and “Hence” help signal relationships. Some cohesion is nevertheless mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “For instance” and “Hence,” and the final paragraph largely repeats the opening claim rather than drawing the argument together. References such as “these” in “treatments are not enough for these” are not fully clear. Use a wider range of linking methods, make pronoun references explicit, and ensure each paragraph develops one distinct point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “alternative medicines,” “underlying risk,” “severe problems,” and “initial stage.” These choices make your main argument understandable, and you attempt some less common expressions. However, several phrases are unnatural or imprecise, such as “solve any medicinal problems,” “rudimentary stage,” and “come around.” “Diseases” is also repeated where more specific terms could make the discussion clearer. There are occasional spelling and word-choice issues, including the lowercase “google.” Aim for more natural collocations and precise medical vocabulary; for example, describe symptoms as “early signs” and explain that a patient may “recover” with appropriate care.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive clause beginning “Although minor diseases can be cured at home” and a conditional sentence about what may happen if a patient is not taken to hospital. Most ideas remain clear despite some grammatical errors. For example, “they do not require to go” has an incorrect verb pattern, and “each diseases” has a number-agreement error. The opening sentence also needs clearer punctuation before the next sentence, while “those who have heart attack” is missing an article. Review verb patterns, articles, singular and plural agreement, and sentence punctuation. More consistent accuracy in these areas would make your argument easier to read.

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