Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-02

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 5.0)

In present times, a large number of people with health problems do not prefer to go to their doctors but instead of it, they prefer to try alternative medicines and treatments. I strongly believe that this is a negative development as this development can have many negative effects.

First and foremost, many individuals try to take alternative medicines which have many drawbacks because it can have many side effects. If a patient does not know the chemistry of a medicine, he is more likely to chose a wrong medicine which will be further harmful for their health. A patient may take an alternative medicine which will work out temporarily but it may have many disadvantages. Afterwards a sick person has to go to again to his doctor and might be his doctor will not be able to him. Then patient has to go other cities consequently, their expenses can dramatically incerases.

For instance, many people in Pakistan have pain in their joints once they get older because when they are young they do not rely on real medicines. As a result, such fake medicines show their nagative result.

Whereas, large proportion of peole are forced to try other treatments because they do not have many resources to buy costly medicines. Therefore, people consult to their friends and family members who suggest them to use alternative medicines. A growing number of people want to save their money as more number of people of such kind belong to developed nations.

To conclude, although trying alternative medicines and treatment are cheaper and convienent but for the longer period of times they have many demerits. Hence, they are the prominent cause of many side effects. So, in my opinion this is a totally negagive development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider reliance on alternative treatments a negative development, and you give reasons involving side effects, delayed medical care and cost. The example about people in Pakistan also attempts to connect the argument to a real context. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because several claims are unclear or insufficiently explained. For example, the link between young people not relying on “real medicines” and later joint pain is asserted rather than supported, and the point about people in developed nations saving money is difficult to reconcile with the earlier claim about lacking resources. Develop one or two reasons more fully, explain how the risks arise, and use a more directly relevant example to make the argument convincing and consistent throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion, and signposts such as “First and foremost,” “For instance” and “To conclude” help identify stages of the argument. However, progression between ideas is not consistently clear. The paragraph beginning “Whereas” introduces financial pressure, but its relationship to the previous argument is not explained, and the final sentence about developed nations seems disconnected from the point about affordability. Some linking is also mechanical or inaccurate, while references such as “this development” and “such fake medicines” do not always make the intended meaning clear. Organise each paragraph around one main reason, then connect each supporting example explicitly to that reason and use transitions that show the actual relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “alternative medicines,” “side effects,” “treatments” and “expenses,” so the reader can follow the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to interpret. Examples include “go to again to his doctor,” “show their nagative result” and “prominent cause of many side effects.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “incerases,” “peole,” “convienent” and “negagive.” Aim for precise, natural phrases and check spelling carefully; for instance, describe a treatment as “causing adverse effects” rather than using an unclear phrase such as “show their result.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional and reason clauses, as in “If a patient does not know…” and “because they do not have many resources…”. However, the range is limited, and complex structures are often faulty. Errors in agreement, articles, verb patterns and sentence construction occur frequently: “it can have many side effects” has an unclear reference, “has to go to again” uses an incorrect pattern, and “might be his doctor will not be able to him” is incomplete. The conclusion also has a subject–verb mismatch in “trying alternative medicines and treatment are cheaper.” These errors can make the reader work to understand your meaning. Practise building accurate clauses and checking each sentence for a clear subject, complete verb and correct agreement.

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