Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-15

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Doctors tell us that we can get all the vitamins we need from having a healthy diet. Despite this advice, some people continue to spend large sums of money on vitamin pills.

Why do you think some people spend a lot of money on vitamin pills?

How could people be persuaded to improve their diet instead of buying vitamin pills?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The consumption of vitamin pills has increased in recent years rather then working on food diet. This trend is mainly because it is widely available in the market although some of the medicines are indeed expensive. However, I believe that consumer can able to reduce consuming pills by knowing the later life side-effects and taking personal guidance from nutrition.

The most countable point is that, production of mediations. Compare to the past, the advancement is medical field has enhanced way of discovering sources of getting vitamin easier than ever. As a result, instead of spending time in the kitchen preparing for food; people prefer to buy vitamin pills from nearby drug store. Additionally, Taking Omega-3 supplement can be a viable alternative for the people who do not consume fish or seafood. Moreover, it also contains other essential nutrients like protein and mineral's. Thus, people are most are influenced more towards spending money on supplements.

There are various ways to stay healthy with consuming green vegetables and plant-based products. For instance, for those who can eat seafood, adding flaxseeds, chia seeds, Mustad oil and soyabean oil can be beneficial. Furthermore, having control on diet is most important in the process of being healthy. Thus, reducing consumption of sweets deserts and oily food is essentials. In last, considering a professional nutritionist can be huge help as they tend to create a personal diet plans for people taking their various medical tests.

In conclusion, using vitamin pills on some extend is necessary of some people based on their diet but, finding a better and safer way before spending large amount of money is more reliable. By consuming plants-based food and supplements that are available in the market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: explaining why people spend money on vitamin pills and suggesting ways to persuade people to improve their diet instead. The student presents a clear position and supports it with relevant ideas, such as convenience, modern manufacturing advancements, and consulting nutritionists. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or expressed with a lack of precise detail, such as the vague reference to 'the production of mediations'. While all parts of the task are covered, the extension of ideas lacks the depth required for a higher band. Consequently, the performance aligns best with the Band 6 descriptors, as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though some areas remain somewhat underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement and is divided into appropriate paragraphs, each focusing on a distinct aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Additionally', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'In last' are unnatural, and some sentences feel disjointed due to abrupt shifts in ideas. Paragraphing is present and generally serves to separate the introduction, body points, and conclusion, but the logical progression between sentences occasionally falters, placing this performance solidly at Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'advancement', 'alternative', and 'nutritionist'. However, there are numerous word choice and spelling errors that detract from precision, such as 'rather then' instead of 'rather than', 'mediations' instead of 'medications', 'Mustad oil' instead of 'mustard oil', and 'desserts' spelled as 'deserts'. Phrases like 'working on food diet' and 'on some extend' are unnatural. While these errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from achieving a Band 6.5 or 7, making Band 5.5 the most accurate descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and participial structures like 'for those who can eat seafood' and 'by knowing the later life side-effects'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('consumer can able to reduce'), preposition errors ('stay healthy with consuming'), and article omissions ('taking personal guidance from nutrition'). Punctuation is also occasionally problematic, particularly with comma placement in complex sentences. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate inconsistent control over more complex grammatical structures, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors well.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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