Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-27

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)

There is considerable debate that wether people should face difficult challenges, such as unenjoyable employment or finance related probelms or they should search for better options to get rid of these situations. Although hard times enable us to perform under pressure, we should try to improve.

On the on hand, people contend that man has to face difficult situations on different life stages. A person, who does not take on challenges, cannot learn different experiences. People find it difficult to survive at a workplace where their comfort is being compromised. For example, young adults these days do not choose a career in which they have to compromise their for their mental satisfaction. As a result, it is becoming challenging for fresh graduates to find their favourite jobs. Moreover, finance management is the key skill that everyone mush acquire. The best time to understand the psychology of spending money is when a person is facing shortage of cash. These scenarios enable people to overcome these chalenges.

On the other hand, it i widely suggested that people should focus on becoming the best version of themselves. Despite having limited resources, a man should try to improve himself to tackle the unrewarding duration. Those who deny to work consistently in order to flourish their skills, always bite the dust. Hard work and perseverance go hand in hand to get a person out of challenging situations.

In conclusion, facing difficult situations without improving your hands-on skills would be detrimental. One should take on all the challenges, sharp his skills and then overcome the hard time. This would develop endurance with long-lasting positive impact.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—accepting difficult situations versus trying to improve them—and provides a clear personal opinion. In the first body paragraph, the arguments around workplace dissatisfaction and financial shortage are relevant, though the explanation regarding young adults is slightly underdeveloped and convoluted (e.g. "compromise their for their mental satisfaction"). The second body paragraph adequately discusses the perspective of self-improvement and consistency, noting that those who "bite the dust" fail to flourish their skills. The position is maintained throughout the essay. While some ideas could be extended with more precision, the overall task requirements are adequately met, corresponding well to a Band 6.5 descriptor where all parts are addressed with relevant, though occasionally under-developed, ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is divided into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as "On the on hand", "On the other hand", and "In conclusion". However, some referencing and logical progression are slightly faulty; for instance, the phrase "As a result, it is becoming challenging for fresh graduates to find their favourite jobs" lacks a clear causal link to the preceding sentence about comfort zones. Additionally, there are minor typographical cohesive errors like "On the on hand". Paragraphing is used sufficiently, and the progression of ideas remains generally coherent throughout, justifying a solid Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic discussion, including terms such as "perseverance", "detrimental", "endurance", and "psychology of spending money". However, there are notable instances of awkward word choice, collocation issues, and typos. For example, "wether" is used instead of whether, "probelms" contains a spelling error, "mush acquire" instead of must acquire, and the idiom "bite the dust" is used in a slightly unnatural context. The range is adequate for the task, but lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips prevent it from reaching a higher band. These errors do not impede communication, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating conditional and subordinate clauses such as "Although hard times enable us to perform under pressure, we should try to improve" and "A person, who does not take on challenges, cannot learn different experiences." There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present, including "at different life stages" rather than "in", punctuation issues around relative clauses, and verb agreement slips like "everyone mush acquire". Despite these errors, the complex structures are generally understandable and do not impede the reader's comprehension. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 6 criteria for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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