Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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)

Lately in this modern era there is alot of on-going debates regarding the personal health and currently personal health advices are available everywhere including social media platforms, newspaper, radio channels, television etc. Alot of free first consulting and general health tips are hovering around the market and day to day life. I would anyday and anytime prefer advice from licensed doctor or licensed healthcare provider. There is an ongoing debate regarding vitamin deficiency and how to cover all your vitamins need from your diet and if not diet than how to cover it up using day to day supplements and over the counter medications.

In my opinion i have been seeing alot of friends, colleagues of mine who used to spend alot on branded vitamin medications to cover up their daily vitamin requirments. But i highly feel that reson for such approach towards is largely due to day to day lifestyle habits, Daily work stress and daily life schedules. Personally in my opinion people prefer over the counter medication over cooking and preparing meals in their routine due to pressure of reaching work place on time and lack of planning in daily life. in this competitive time lifestyle and home science has left behing a long time back.

In this 21st century i would suggest people to seek either proofessional help from cooks or house help if they earn well and have stable finances, as citamin pills can never beat getting vitamins from direct natural food source. Also the same amount of money someone spend on pills can be spent on house help or cooks who can help preparing meals. Human body is made in a way to absorb nutritients from body example our large intestine and small instestine are naturally designed in a way that food breaks down inside and small villi like structure naturally have capabilities to absorb nutritions from food which could definetly eliminate the need for buying vitamin pills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing reasons why people spend money on vitamin pills, such as busy lifestyles and lack of meal planning, and suggests solutions like hiring cooks or house help. However, the position is not always clear, particularly in the lengthy introduction which digresses into general commentary about media health advice rather than focusing directly on the prompt. The ideas presented are somewhat limited and under-developed, lacking detailed elaboration or concrete personal examples to fully flesh out the arguments. To reach the next level, the writer needs to ensure all parts of the prompt are directly addressed with fully extended and supported ideas, avoiding tangential introductions that distract from the main task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation in the text, with paragraphs separating the introduction, reasons, and proposed solutions. However, there is no clear overall progression throughout the essay. Cohesive devices are used inadequately or repetitively, such as the frequent reliance on 'daily' and 'daily life' phrases, and referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronoun use like 'such approach towards is largely due'. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs feels disjointed rather than logically sequenced. To improve in this area, the writer should employ a wider range of cohesive devices more accurately, ensure clear logical progression between sentences, and structure paragraphs so that each has a distinct, well-managed central theme.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic message, featuring words and phrases such as 'modern era', 'diet', and 'over the counter medications'. There are noticeable lexical errors, including spelling mistakes like 'alot', 'citamin', 'nutritients', and 'instestine', as well as awkward word choices and collocations like 'health advices' and 'first consulting'. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a higher band. To progress, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire, pay closer attention to word formation and spelling, and use less common lexical items with greater precision and stylistic awareness.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple or loosely coordinated clauses. Attempts at complex sentences often result in faulty grammar and punctuation errors, such as run-on sentences and missing commas. There are frequent grammatical errors regarding subject-verb agreement and article usage, including phrases like 'how to cover all your vitamins need' and 'reason for such approach towards is largely due'. These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence forms with good control, reducing error frequency and ensuring accurate punctuation throughout.

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