Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-04

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)

Most of peoples believes that the 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. Some people believe in that happen with them is betterment for their life. They do not change their conditions in which , they lived . But they are unsatisfied with their life.

They Acceptance is useful only when a problem cannot be fixed right now. People should still try to improve their lives whenever change is possible.

Builds Growth: Working hard to fix a problem teaches new skills and builds confidence

Creates Opportunity: Taking action leads to better jobs and higher income over time.

Stops Complacency: Trying to change things prevents people from feeling stuck or losing motivation. he Case for Accepting a Bad Situation Reduces Stress: Accepting a reality you cannot change stops immediate worry.

or instance, a person with no special skills and a low-paying job may choose to accept the situation and focus on being happy with whatever little he has. If he is constantly unhappy about his pay scale and tries to change the job without a proper skillset, it will make his life more miserable.

he other hand, those who argue for taking action to change their conditions believe that acceptance can lead to complacency and lack of motivation. By accepting a bad situation, individuals may miss out on opportunities to improve their circumstances and achieve their goals. For example, a person with a shortage of money may choose to take on extra work or seek financial assistance to improve their financial situation rather than thinking that he has nothing to do to earn more money and get out of the financial hardship.

Saves Energy: It lets people focus on other important parts of life instead of fighting a lost cause. Brings Stability: Holding onto a bad job keeps money coming in while waiting for a better time to move. accepting certain unchangeable circumstances can bring short-term peace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion. However, the structure is significantly compromised by the inclusion of bullet-point-style fragments (e.g., 'Builds Growth:', 'Saves Energy:'). These sections lack the necessary development and full sentence structure required for an academic essay. While the ideas are relevant, the lack of a cohesive paragraph structure for these points makes the development uneven. To improve, you must integrate all arguments into full, well-developed paragraphs rather than listing them as notes. The position is clear, but the overall presentation prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay suffers from poor paragraphing and formatting. The use of bullet-point-like headers within the body paragraphs disrupts the flow and logical progression of the argument. While there are some cohesive devices used, such as 'For instance' and 'On the other hand', the overall structure is disjointed. The transition between the introduction and the body is abrupt, and the lack of proper paragraph breaks makes the text difficult to follow. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas are linked using formal transition words rather than fragmented lists.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'betterment for their life' and 'pay scale' used in a context where 'salary' or 'wages' would be more appropriate. The repetition of basic words like 'change' and 'situation' limits the lexical variety. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated collocations and the presence of minor word-choice errors suggest a limited range of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Most of peoples believes') and awkward sentence construction ('Some people believe in that happen with them is betterment'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and missing capitalization at the start of sentences (e.g., 'he Case for', 'he other hand'). While some complex structures are attempted, they are often inaccurate. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for capitalization and punctuation errors.

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

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