Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Thesedays, an increasing number of individuals with health issues are trying to find alternative sources and treatments to cure their issues instead of consulting their doctor. From my perspective, I would say that it is both the positive and negative development and the reasons will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, there are some positive aspects of this certain trend. It assists individuals to save money because doctors charge a significant amount of consultancy fee which is often unaffordable for few individuals. If individulas try to heal themselves on their own, it will help them to save the consultancy fee which can be spent on on alternative methods. Subsequently, doctors adviced medicines are often chemical based. Anyone who takes them for a long term suffers with other health issues which leads to expensive treatments and sometimes individuals stuck in a loop. Consequently people try the traditional methods of healing through herbs and other natural things which are beneficial and do not offer any adverse effect. For instance, I suffered with paranasal sinus and consulted a doctor. He charged a lot of consultancy fee and adviced a high dose of medicine, after taking I suffered with other stomach problems.

In contrast, this trend has few downsides, such as it eliminates the need of professional doctors which leads to the unemployement. Furthermore, sometimes individuals with special the issues of brain, heart, and many more should consult to their respective doctors becuase individulas themselves cannot cure these issues at all. Solving problems by themselves related to critical health issues and organs, consequently leads in deteriorating health.

In conclusion, this trend has both the positive and negative sides. Individuals should try to alleviate the basic health issues such as flu and headache by their own but for the special cases they should consult their respective doctors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall position: alternative treatment can be useful for basic problems, while serious conditions require a doctor. The examples about treatment costs, natural remedies and your sinus experience make the discussion relevant. However, the positive case is developed more fully than the negative one, which is mainly asserted through unemployment and the danger of self-treating serious illnesses. The claim that medicines are often harmful and that natural remedies have no adverse effects is also too broad and needs qualification or support. To strengthen the response, explain when alternative treatments may complement medical care, and develop the risks of delaying diagnosis or using unproven remedies with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your position. Signposting such as “To begin with,” “In contrast,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the main direction. The progression is less smooth within some paragraphs, however. In the positive paragraph, cost, possible side effects and traditional remedies are linked quickly, and “Consequently” does not clearly show how the preceding point leads to the next. The negative paragraph also moves from doctors’ employment to serious illness without explaining the connection. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and make references such as “this trend” or “them” more precise where needed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “alternative methods,” “consultancy fee,” “traditional methods of healing,” and “critical health issues.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, but several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, and repetition of “individuals,” “issues,” and “health” limits flexibility. There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including “individulas,” “unemployement,” and “advised medicines.” Some collocations, such as “suffers with other health issues” and “special cases,” are not idiomatic or specific enough. Aim for more precise phrasing and check spelling carefully; this would make your argument easier to read and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional and cause-and-effect structures: “If individuals try to heal themselves…” and “which leads to expensive treatments.” The overall meaning is generally understandable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms recur. For example, “it is both the positive and negative development” needs a more accurate article and noun phrase, while “after taking I suffered” lacks a clear object and has an incomplete connection between clauses. There are also problems with agreement and verb forms in “individuals stuck in a loop” and “doctors advised medicines are often chemical based.” Practise building complete clauses and checking articles, verb forms and sentence boundaries, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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