Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-30

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 recent years health problems has become increasingly common. Individuals are trying their own home remedies instead of consulting a doctor. I believe, this has negative impact on people health because self treatment and delaying professional medication cause serious consequences.

There are several reasons why self treatment is not good in every situation for person

well-being. The main reason is that alternative treatments does not cure every illness. Such that it may be useful for minor problems, but they should not replace medical advice for serious conditions. Moreover, some health conditions require proper diagnosis and medical treatment. For example, a person may try homeopathic medication for serious illness. Thus, the condition could become worse because of appropriate treatment is delayed.

In my view this has negative development. One main reason is that emergency cases require urgent medical treatment owing to dangerous situations. Furthermore, serious illness accompained by symptoms such as high fever or dangerously low blood levels may need treatment. Sometimes the physical and mental condition get worse using self treatment. For instance, a person was suffered from malaria since 2 weeks, yet he is ignoring because of busy schedule and rely on home treatment. Therefore, it may results to attend the hospital to utilize the diagnosis.

In conclusion, health palys a significant role to survive day-to-day lives. Overall, I believe that own medication has negative impact on physical condition. Although, self care may be helpful for minor situations. Therefore, people should consult qualified doctors before coosing any treatment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider replacing doctors with self-treatment a negative development, and you give relevant reasons, including delayed diagnosis and the risks of serious illness. The malaria example also helps illustrate the danger of postponing care. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because several points remain general or unclear. For example, “emergency cases require urgent medical treatment” is asserted but not explained, and the example does not show what happened after the person relied on home treatment. The brief concession that self-care can help with minor problems could also be developed to make your evaluation more balanced. The response is one word below the required minimum. Develop each reason with a clearer explanation or consequence and ensure the required length is met.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. The main position is repeated consistently, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “For example,” and “In conclusion” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. The second paragraph begins with a general claim, then shifts to emergency cases and symptoms, before moving to the malaria example; the connection between these points is not always explicit. Some transitions, including “Thus” and “Therefore,” introduce conclusions that are unclear or do not follow smoothly from the preceding sentence. Organise each paragraph around one main reason, explain it, and then connect the example directly to that reason. This would make the overall argument easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “alternative treatments,” “proper diagnosis,” “medical advice,” and “serious conditions.” These choices make the subject clear, and you attempt some more specific language when discussing symptoms and treatment. However, the range is limited in places, with repeated use of “treatment,” “serious,” and “condition,” and several inaccurate or unnatural expressions affect clarity. For instance, “negative impact on people health” and “utilize the diagnosis” do not express the intended meaning naturally. There are also spelling errors such as “accompained,” “palys,” and “coosing.” Build precision by learning common health-related collocations and checking word forms and spelling; this will help your vocabulary communicate ideas more reliably.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a contrast with “Although” and clauses introduced by “because” and “since.” This shows some effort to vary sentence structure. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns as well as in more complex attempts. Examples include “health problems has become,” “alternative treatments does not cure,” and “the physical and mental condition get worse,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect. Other sentences have faulty construction, such as “a person was suffered from malaria” and “it may results to attend the hospital.” Articles, plurals and punctuation also need attention. Practise building accurate sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; check agreement and verb forms carefully before submitting.

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