Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-17

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 5.5)

Some people believe that it's good to accept critical circumstances such as unsatisfactory job and shortage of money while others prefer to try and improve themselves. While opinions remain divided, I firmly contend that it is better to accept unfavorable circumstances. On one hand, there are many valid reasons for acceptance unwanted environment. The foremost justification lies in the fact that living in a bad environment can lead to a stress, anxiety and unhappiness. In addition, they thought that good things would come through to accept a bad situation. Moreover, they also thought that they can learn a lots from bad circumstances. For example, if a student gets 99 marks in the final exam, he needs only one more mark for getting. He also noticed that his teacher cut one mark although his answer was right. But he did not say anything. When he remembered it, it encourages to study more, and he will do better in the coming exams. Besides this it is also mentioned that others argue that it is best to try and improve the bad situation. This is best illustrated that sometimes if accept bad situation it will be worse. For instance, if a person has low salary. Logically, at a point his pocket will be empty. He will face shortage of money if he accepts these situations then he cannot lead a good life and he miss out on opportunity to improve circumstances. Rather to accept the situation he must have to do something better to overcome the situation. This can primarily be attributed to a good life. For these reasons, I believe that acceptance may be helpful in some situations but taking action and struggle for improvement is often good action. By doing so, individuals can achieve better outcomes that can be used in various areas of life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views and provides an opinion, but the development is inconsistent. The position is contradictory; you state in the introduction that you 'firmly contend that it is better to accept unfavorable circumstances,' yet the conclusion suggests that 'taking action and struggle for improvement is often good action.' This lack of a clear, consistent position impacts the task response. Furthermore, the supporting examples are weak and confusing. The example of the student and the exam mark does not clearly illustrate why accepting a bad situation is beneficial, and the logic regarding the low salary example is difficult to follow. To improve, ensure your arguments are logically linked to your stated position and provide more relevant, clear examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is often unclear. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'In addition,' 'Moreover,' 'For instance'), they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately, which disrupts the flow. For example, the transition between the student exam example and the argument for improving situations is abrupt. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the use of 'they' in the second paragraph without a clear antecedent. To reach a higher band, focus on using cohesive devices to create a smoother logical progression between sentences and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus that supports your main argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'bad environment' and 'good things,' which limits the sophistication of your argument. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'struggle for improvement is often good action' and 'accepting unwanted environment.' While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and occasional inaccuracies in word choice prevent a higher score. Try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to personal development, professional challenges, and resilience to demonstrate a wider lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'lead to a stress'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'they thought that good things would come through to accept'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'Rather to accept the situation he must have to do something'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive or disjointed. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Additionally, practice combining simple sentences into more complex, error-free structures to demonstrate better grammatical control.

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

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