Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-09

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. Others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

 

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Some people have a belief that accepting a bad situation like an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money if best for us. Other set of people believe that trying and improving such situations is better. I agree with the latter set of people because accepting a bad situation and not try to improve it will make our life full of regrets as we grow old.

When a person approaches old age, he/she will never regret the things they did in the past but they will definitely regret the things they did not do when they were young. They wish whole-heartedly that they could become young again and do all the great things that were not done by them. The situation, however bad it looks, can be changed by hard-work and dedication. APJ Abdul Kalam also known as the rocket-man of India had made his first rocket in poverty without any government funding and had started ISRO single-handedly. If he had accepted the bad situation and never tried to improve it, India would be decades back in Space Technology.

However, many people think that when probability of improving the situation is quite low and requires extreme hard-work, it is better to give up and be satisfied with the current situation because it would mentally break a person if he fully dedicates to change the situation and fails. The amount of emotional investment he/she had given, all that for nothing, disheartens him/her. In India, UPSC is an exam given by thousands of candidates who are above 22 years of age and only a thousand aspirants clear the exam. Majority of students are working part-time somewhere and there are 6 attempts which a single candidate can give. Many students give up on the exam after 4th attempt because they know that they will most probably not clear it and they could not sacrifice more work and family.

Having said that, I completely believe that a person should give their 100% to improve the current situation because by doing so, they will not regret the decision at old age even when odds are too low.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as the reference to APJ Abdul Kalam and the UPSC examination context. The position is consistent throughout the essay. To reach a higher band, the development of the opposing view could be slightly more balanced in terms of depth, as the argument for accepting a situation is somewhat overshadowed by the personal stance. However, the task is fully addressed with well-developed arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the two viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Having said that', and 'In India' are used to guide the reader through the argument. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions between sentences could be more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion. The progression of ideas is clear, and the central topic of each paragraph is well-maintained.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and allows for some precision. Phrases like 'whole-heartedly', 'emotional investment', and 'space technology' demonstrate a good range. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'Other set of people' instead of 'Another group of people' and 'give the exam' instead of 'take the exam'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Using more varied collocations would enhance the lexical quality.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'if best for us' (should be 'is best'), 'not try to improve' (should be 'not trying'), and 'had made his first rocket' (past simple would be more appropriate than past perfect here). While these errors are noticeable, they do not cause difficulty for the reader. The control of punctuation is generally good, and the meaning remains clear throughout the response.

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

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