Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23

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)

Doctors generally advice people that a balanced diet has all essential vitamins and nutrients requred for a good health. Nonetheless, people spend a considerabe amiunt of money on vitamin supplements. This essay will discuss easons for this behaviour and suggest possible ways to encourage people to obtain nutrients from a healthy diet intsead.

There are several reasons, why people rely heavily on vitamin pills. One of the main reason is convenience. In today's hectic and busy lifestyle, people find it easy to swallow a capsule, than to prepare nutritious meals containing fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods. Another resaon that comes to my mind is, influence of advertising and social media. Supplement companies often promotes their products by claiming that their supplements provide energy and boosts immunity and general well-being. Furthermore, some people believe that consuming supplements can give them extra protection against illnesses particularly when they are worried about their nutrional requirements.

However, people could encouraged to improve diets and lifestyle through better education and awareness. Schools, workplaces and healthcare professionals could provide information about the nutrient found in ordinary foods and can explain that a balanced diet is a sustainable source of nutrients. Governments could also regulate misleading advertising and run campaigns showcasing affordable and healthy meal options. Doctors and dietitians

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing reasons why people buy vitamin pills (convenience and advertising) and suggesting ways they could be persuaded to improve their diet. However, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly in the final paragraph ('Doctors and dietitians...'). Furthermore, the Length Check confirms the response contains only 213 words, falling short of the mandatory 250-word minimum. Because the ideas are underdeveloped and the text is under-length, the task is only partially addressed, which restricts the band score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a logical overall structure with a clear introduction and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is appropriately attempted to separate the different parts of the prompt. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in minor awkwardness in transitions like 'Another resaon that comes to my mind is, influence of advertising'. The abrupt ending also disrupts the overall flow and progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, but the incomplete nature of the response limits higher-level cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'nutritional requirements', 'sustainable source', and 'healthcare professionals'. However, there are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'advice' (used as a verb instead of 'advise'), 'requred', 'considerabe amiunt', 'easons', 'reason' (plural agreement error in 'One of the main reason'), and 'nutrional'. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a solid Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional ideas and relative clauses. There are, however, frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and punctuation (e.g., unnecessary commas like 'There are several reasons, why people rely...'). Errors also include missing articles and prepositions, as well as incomplete grammatical structures due to the unfinished final sentence. While these issues do not obscure the overall meaning, they prevent the text from achieving a higher band.

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

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