Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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)

It is often argued that many people with health problems prefer alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their practitioner. in my opinion, it is a negative development which could lead to mishaps.

One of the main reason is that individuals can take wrong medications when trying different medicines this is because they are not professionals or have a medical degree therefore they don't have enough knowledge to take the right medications.For instance, a person who has migraine tries a new pill which he saw on social media potentially harming him because it is not reccommended by their doctor as the chemicals in that pill may not be right for the person because of his allergies leading to many new health issues. Moreover, these medications are not verified and checked by the doctor so it may not cure the health issue and create more confusions.

Another important reason is that this will be financially very burdening and the fear of not going to the doctor will grow more and more everyday.Trying out different medicines by only researching about them may not tell all the details and it maybe more expensive then the ones that your doctor recommends.For example, buying the whole packet of tablet when you only need one which can increase the expenses.Therefore, this will be an addiction for them to buy medication by their and when they develop a serious health issue it can get late to cure it or start the treatment.

In conclusion, visiting a doctor is very significant because your life depends on it and the medications you take by yourself maybe short term wherease the one that doctors recommend will be a long term treatment which will prevent further health issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider reliance on alternative treatments without a doctor a negative development. You address the question with two relevant reasons—risks from unsuitable medication and possible financial and treatment consequences—and support them with examples, such as the migraine sufferer taking a pill seen on social media. However, some points are less fully explained. The financial argument shifts between expense, buying a whole packet, and delayed treatment without clearly showing how these connect, and the conclusion’s contrast between short- and long-term treatment is asserted rather than developed. To strengthen the response, explain each cause-and-effect link more precisely and distinguish alternative treatments from self-medicating without professional advice.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a coherent overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and a conclusion restates the position. Sequencing phrases such as “One of the main reason,” “Moreover,” and “Another important reason” help signal development. However, some connections are mechanical, and several ideas run together in long sentences. For example, the first body paragraph moves from lack of expertise to a social-media pill, then to verification and confusion without clearly separating each step. The financial paragraph also combines cost, fear of doctors, and delayed treatment. Use clearer sentence boundaries and make the relationship between each example and its main point explicit; this would make progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including relevant terms such as “medications,” “allergies,” “verified,” and “treatment.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “financially very burdening” and “serious health issue.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “financially very burdening” is not natural, “create more confusions” is unsuitable here, and “an addiction for them to buy medication” does not clearly express your intended meaning. Spelling errors such as “reccommended” and “wherease” also reduce control. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling, while keeping your vocabulary precise rather than forcing complex expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including explanations with “because” and a conditional example beginning “when they develop a serious health issue.” The overall meaning is generally understandable, but sentence control is uneven. Some sentences join several independent ideas without appropriate punctuation, as in “One of the main reason is that individuals can take wrong medications … therefore they don't have enough knowledge.” There are also agreement and article errors, including “One of the main reason” and “a person who has migraine,” as well as inconsistent capitalisation after the opening sentence. Break long sentences into clearer units, check subject–verb agreement and articles, and use punctuation to mark the boundaries between complete ideas.

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