Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-29

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)

Advocates argue that a person should accept his bad circumstances like job dissatisfaction or money shortage. While critics argue that a person ought to fight against such conditions to make an improvement or a progress. I strongly believe that the latter view is more important, hence, this essay will discuss both the notions and shall discuss my opinion.

Failure is the part of a life. There are times when people do not succeed in their life and they often feel as they lack behind others in this race of the life. Therefore, demotivation and disinterests are some common hurdles in a job. Particularly, Indian job market is very tough nowadays, especially in IT Industry, where young graduates struggle to get a descent placement after their higher studies. Here, it is too common to get a dissatisfying job at first which obviously pays less. Instead of cursing the life for the same, people should accept this phase of life and hence, they should try to become capable enough to just move out of this situation as soon as possible.

However, I firmly withstand the notion of not giving up, especially when facing such hardships of the life. Whether the situation is of the poor financial condition or dissatisfaction in the current job, individual must accept this fact that they are not alone facing this difficult phase of the life. Others too like Mark Zuckerburg, founder of Meta, has faced this similar issue. Then also, he never missed the opportunity to work hard and believe in the idea of self-determination. Consequently, this industriousness at the end paid off, making Meta one of the billion dollars company today, operating over the global IT sector. He too came from a financially poor background and encountered the issue of job dissatisfaction. But instead of giving up, he chose to overcome this situation by following strategic planning and just continue to hustle till he overcame this situation.

To conclude with, it is very important to not feel low or demotivated in the hard phases of the life. I strongly believe that we should make every possible effort to conquer this situation and overcome the hurdles that are obstructing the success in life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on accepting versus fighting bad situations and clearly states the writer's own opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are supported with explanations and examples, such as the Indian IT job market and the reference to Mark Zuckerberg, although the Zuckerberg example contains inaccuracies regarding his background and job dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, the position is clear throughout, and the main arguments are extended and supported, fitting the Band 6.0 to 6.5 profile well. The development is generally relevant, though some generalisations lack precise nuance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a clear overall progression and logical organisation, with distinct paragraphs introduced for each main idea and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used throughout, such as 'While critics argue', 'Therefore', 'However', and 'To conclude with'. However, some cohesive links feel a bit mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'hence, this essay will discuss both the notions and shall discuss my opinion' and 'Then also, he never missed'. Referencing is mostly clear, but paragraph transitions and logical relationships between sentences occasionally show minor awkwardness, placing the response solidly in the Band 6.0 category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'industriousness', 'self-determination', and 'strategic planning'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'money shortage' instead of 'financial shortage', 'descent placement' instead of 'decent placement', 'cursing the life' instead of 'cursing life', and referring to Meta as a 'billion dollars company' instead of a 'multi-billion-dollar company'. These minor lexical errors and awkward collocations do not impede communication, matching the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation slips, particularly with articles and prepositions, such as 'Failure is the part of a life', 'race of the life', 'critic argue', 'individual must accept this fact', and 'continue to hustle till he overcame this situation'. While these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede overall communication, as the intended meaning remains clear to the reader. This performance aligns well with Band 6 criteria for grammatical range and accuracy.

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