Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18
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 5.0)
According to my perspective, the consumption of the vitamin pills are necessary because to complete the vitamins from the food source is very difficult at some points as the individual have to be very specific and has to consume a certain amount of the food ingredients. It is practically not possible to eat alot of food items in order to complete the daily vitamins goal as compared to a pill which is really easy to consume and is also available at almost all the stores as it's a very essential supplement which is crucial for a healthy lifestyle of any person. I suggest that people can be persuaded to eat more specific food to complete their vitamins target by simply promoting the side effects and the quality of vitamin which is supplied in the market as some brands offer really low quality products which are not suitable for each body type and hard on the gut. There are also fake supplementation supplied in the market to generate more revenue from the people ehich is really hard to determine for common man who's not from the medical or fitness background. A balanced diet can promote the level of vitamins which are perfect for consumption of everyone. But at the other hand, i believe that is far better and convenient to just take a pill to meet the vitamin goals and it is so easy to carry with you even in office or a trip.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing why people spend money on vitamin pills and how they might be persuaded to improve their diet. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the argument regarding convenience is restated multiple times without much extension. Furthermore, the response suffers from a penalisation for length, as it falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement at 243 words. Consequently, the task achievement is restricted to a Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The entire response is written as a single, massive paragraph, which severely impacts paragraphing and overall visual organisation. There is a lack of clear progression, and the transitions between sentences feel mechanical and abrupt. While the writer attempts to connect ideas using words like 'Despite this' (though this was in the prompt) and 'But at the other hand', the cohesive devices are used clumsily. Referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the flow of arguments. Overall, the structure reflects Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The lexical range is somewhat limited and repetitive, with frequent reuse of words like 'vitamin', 'food', 'consume', and 'market'. There are noticeable collocation and word choice errors, such as 'complete the vitamins from the food source', 'eat alot of food items', and 'fake supplementation supplied'. The expression 'hard on the gut' is overly informal for an IELTS task. Although the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic message, these frequent inaccuracies restrict the score to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts some complex structures, but these are often faulty or run-on sentences, such as the opening sentence and the long, convoluted sentence beginning with 'There are also fake supplementation...'. Grammatical errors are frequent, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'the consumption of the vitamin pills are necessary' and article errors like 'common man who's not from the medical or fitness background'. Punctuation is also neglected, with comma splices present throughout the text. These frequent errors cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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