Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-30
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)
Some people think that it is best to accept situations like shortage of money or staying in an unsatisfactory job, while other think that it is important to try and improve the situation without feeling bad about it. I think people should accept any situation and focus of improving the situation rather than feeling bad.
On the one hand, it can be depressing when people face situations such as shortage of money or working in an unsatisfactory job. Their routine can become boring, and it may eventually become a burden to work in such a job. People who have shortage of money may avoid going out of the house because they feel bad about their financial condition and may eventually ends up staying at home, this leads to depression it also develops anxiety as they feel they are unable to purchase anything and always have keep track of their spending.
On the other hand, instead of complaining about the situation, people can take action by improving their work, shifting to a better job, working at part-time jobs for extra wage. However, I think its important that every individual finds an income source other than actual jobs because it will become a source of income which solves the problem of shortage of money.
In conclusion, accepting a bad situation, such as working in an unsatisfactory job or having a shortage of money, is not enough. Taking action to improve the situation by finding a better job or earning additional income is more important.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it—and states a clear position in the introduction and conclusion. However, the student's stance presented in the introduction contains some contradiction: 'I think people should accept any situation and focus of improving the situation rather than feeling bad.' Despite this slight confusion in the opening statement, the body paragraphs clearly develop both perspectives. The first body paragraph explores the emotional toll of financial shortage and unsatisfactory jobs, while the second body paragraph advocates for taking proactive steps such as switching jobs or finding alternative income sources. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, aligning well with the expectations of Band 6.5 to 7.0, though more precise articulation of the initial stance would elevate the response further.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two opposing viewpoints. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty. For instance, the second body paragraph runs multiple clauses together with comma splices, such as '...people who have shortage of money may avoid going out... this leads to depression it also develops anxiety...' This weakens the logical flow between ideas. Cohesive devices are used, but referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronoun usage and run-on structures. To improve, the student should focus on breaking down long, complex clauses into distinct sentences and employing a greater variety of accurate conjunctions and transition markers.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully discussing topics related to employment and financial difficulties using phrases like 'unsatisfactory job', 'financial condition', and 'earning additional income'. However, there are noticeable word-choice inaccuracies and awkward collocations, such as 'focus of improving' instead of 'focus on improving', and 'have shortage of money' missing the article 'a'. The vocabulary tends to be repetitive, relying frequently on words like 'situation', 'job', and 'money'. While the lexical resource is sufficient to convey the main arguments without impeding communication, the lack of more sophisticated or varied vocabulary prevents the response from reaching a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting complex structures such as conditional and concessive clauses (e.g., 'On the one hand, it can be depressing when people face situations...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several run-on sentences and punctuation errors, notably comma splices in the first body paragraph. Furthermore, minor grammatical slips occur, including missing prepositions and articles (e.g., 'staying in unsatisfactory job', 'have shortage of money'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the grammar score from exceeding Band 6.0. Increasing control over complex sentence boundaries and reviewing article usage will yield immediate improvements.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.