Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-01

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)

Even though Doctors tell us that we can get all the vitamins if we have a proper balanced healthy diet furthermore we won't need to spend a fortune on vitamins but on the contrary people spend large sums of money on vitamin pills.

Some people continue to spend a lot of money on pills because of advertisements by big companies with celebrities endorsing it. They show it very easy to be healthy by eating a pill and then theey don't worry about whatever they eat whole day which sounds very simple so people belive it. It is all a myth and merketing giving. Moreover, if people try to be healthy for few weeks and don't see any drastic result they give up and find this easy solution to eat pills.

Although people could be persuaded with some contrary advertisements on television, newspaper and social media with some stories of real people with real impact. We could show real statistics for awareness. Along with it provide step-by-step guidance to change lifestyle in a very simple manner.There is no short cut and diet change cannot be achieved in few days, it has to be a lifestyle change which can take upto years to become habit and show results. One steps at a time so it can be easily followed and eventualy becomes a part of our life.

Along with healthy diet excercise has to be part of the routine as well for holistic result.

Overall, people should stop spending large sum of money on vitamin pills and have a healthy diet and excercise with realistic timeline to see results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: advertising and celebrity endorsements are offered as reasons for buying pills, while counter-advertising, statistics, and practical lifestyle guidance are proposed as alternatives. These ideas are relevant, but several need fuller explanation—for example, explain why celebrity promotion is persuasive or how the suggested guidance could help people sustain dietary changes. The final comments about exercise and realistic timelines support the general health message but do not directly develop the two requested answers. Your position is clear in the conclusion. The response is one word below the required 250-word minimum; the 18 words copied from the prompt were not counted. Add a little relevant development to meet the requirement and strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on persuasion, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Although,” and “Along with” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The opening combines several contrasting points in one sentence, and “Although people could be persuaded…” does not clearly connect to the next proposal. The standalone exercise sentence also interrupts the flow before the conclusion. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each supporting detail explicitly to the paragraph’s main point. More precise referencing and less reliance on general linkers would make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “celebrities endorsing,” “real statistics,” “step-by-step guidance,” and “lifestyle change.” These phrases help communicate the main ideas, and the reader can generally understand your meaning. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or informal, however, as in “marketing giving,” “drastic result,” and “holistic result.” There are also spelling errors such as “belive,” “eventualy,” and “excercise,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully. For instance, describe the promotion as “misleading marketing” and refer to “significant results” rather than a “drastic result.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea (“if people try to be healthy…”) and a contrast introduced by “Although.” However, complex sentences are often difficult to control, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. The opening is a run-on sentence joining several clauses without effective punctuation. Other examples include “They show it very easy” and “if people try to be healthy for few weeks,” where sentence structure and articles are missing or inaccurate. There are also problems with agreement and number, such as “One steps.” Practise separating long sentences and checking articles, verb patterns, and singular/plural forms; this will make your meaning more consistently clear.

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