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)

While job satisfaction has become most popular debate in this contemporary world. While several individuals believe that it is crucial to accept the detrimental situations as they lazy and covered, I believe that hard work and self-confidence can lead to better opportunity.

To commence with, the viewpoint to accept the current situations if you are not satisfied is covary as they avoid encountering fear, challenges and hard work and simply give up. For instance, when individuals are not confidents about their skills they give up and accept the unsatisfied situations, as a result they continued to serve for the job they dislike and the packages they offer. Similarly, laziness is the other reason, why individuals remained stocked at the same position even work for years, consequently they give up is because they are not motivated enough to work hard and left their comfort.

In contrast, others contend that hard work can open the impossible doors for anyone. To illustrate, Hard work is the fundamental key to success, even for the average people, if they work with consistent potential and give their best in their field, as a result they achieve better positions and salaries. Furthermore, confidence is another factor that brings individuals to success. For example, confident person is well aware of his skills and intelligence, therefore they never give up their goals, resulting in the success.

In conclusion, while several individuals argue notion that they should accept the reality even if they are not satisfied with their current job and the provided salary, I believe that alternative viewpoint holds significant validity as hard work and self-confidence can contributes a considerable role in people's success.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The arguments regarding why people accept bad situations (laziness, fear) are repetitive, and the explanation of how hard work leads to success is quite general. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific, nuanced examples or logical steps that explain the 'how' and 'why' behind your claims. While the task is addressed, the depth of analysis is consistent with a Band 6.0, as the ideas are relevant but could be more thoroughly extended.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'In contrast', and 'Furthermore'. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and some mechanical use of transitions. For example, the transition 'as a result' is used repeatedly throughout the text, which makes the cohesion feel slightly repetitive. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring that the relationship between sentences is always clear would help elevate this score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of word-choice errors or awkward collocations, such as 'covary' (likely meant 'common' or 'concerning'), 'remained stocked' (meant 'stuck'), and 'packages they offer' (vague). While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'detrimental situations' and 'fundamental key', the overall range is limited. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more precise academic vocabulary to express your ideas more naturally.

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. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('hard work can contributes'), incorrect word forms ('confident person' instead of 'a confident person'), and awkward sentence construction in the introduction. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic errors like articles, pluralization, and verb endings to ensure your complex sentences are accurate.

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

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