Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-19

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)

It is often argued that it is suitable to accept a negative predicament, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. While other individuals contend that better to overcome predicament and improve the current challenges instead of avoiding.

This essay will discuss both view, and I will state my opinion.

On the one hand, proponents of accepting a negative situation who argue that it emphasize that entire problem could be arduous to transform completely. Facing problems such as dissatisfaction of work environment, unconditional personal background, and shortage of payment could inevitably lead to dissatisfaction, however, those relative problems might be unhealthy for individuals. For instance, Maslow's hierarchy of need theory mentioned that fostering employees' motivations are all depends on their own personalites and experiences. To illustrate, some individuals motivated by psychological factors instead of basis needs like clothes, foods, and shelter. Additionally, their enduring temperament will positively reflected to their personality like patient, consistency, and compassion.

One the other hand, there are far more compelling arguments supporting that confronting with their personal predicament and reflected to direct transformation could inevitably lead to the high satisfaction in long-term. The main rationale is that ignoring the predicament and accpeting their current state will limit the valuable opportunity to overcome certain challenges. To illustrate, the individuals will be form new characteristics like independency, innovation and responsibility throughout their overcoming story. In addition, once they figured out certain predicament, every people is continuously keen to shift their current situation into better environment.

In conclusion, despite the apparent advantages of accepting the bad situation, overcoming challenges and transforming their environment presents a far more crucial opportunity to be mature. Therefore, improving their dissatisfying state clearly outweighs the aforemnetioned drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views regarding accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it, and a clear personal opinion is presented in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Ideas are extended, particularly in the discussion on personal development and long-term satisfaction. However, some arguments lack complete clarity and precision, such as the awkward integration of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the somewhat convoluted phrasing regarding personal backgrounds. While all parts of the prompt are covered, the development of ideas occasionally wanders into over-generalised or slightly confusing assertions, fitting the Band 6 descriptors where relevant ideas are present but some are under-developed or unclear.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is arranged into logical paragraphs with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, maintaining an overall coherent structure. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are utilized to guide the reader through the argumentation. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in awkward transitions like 'proponents of accepting a negative situation who argue that it emphasize that entire problem...'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but internal cohesion within sentences occasionally breaks down due to grammatical interference, placing this response solidly at Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The candidate attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the academic prompt, utilizing terms like 'predicament', 'proponents', 'unconditional', and 'transformation'. However, there are numerous inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as 'unconditional personal background' instead of 'unfavorable personal circumstances', and 'basis needs' instead of 'basic needs'. Word formation errors are also present, such as 'accpeting' and 'aforemnetioned'. These lexical inaccuracies and occasional spelling slips indicate an adequate range for the task with noticeable errors, aligning well with the Band 6 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting sophisticated structures with varying degrees of success. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('fostering employees' motivations are all depends'), awkward relative clauses ('proponents of accepting a negative situation who argue that it emphasize'), and incorrect preposition use ('confronting with'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the writing from reaching the Band 7 threshold, where frequent error-free sentences and good grammatical control are required.

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

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