Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-03

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)

A number of people belive that acceptance towards an adverse situation such as lack of finances or undesired job is the most appropriate decision, whereas others oppose this idea and argue that it can be unturned by overcoming and facing the situation. In my opinion the later argument leads to successful life than the former.

To begin with, some people believe that naturally accepting the situation would do less harm than fighting it. They profess that thinking of the ways to unturn the situation wastes the crucial time of an individual, hence people should not retaliate and make peace with the situation. By doing this they can utilise their precious time in learning alternative activities that they were not able to enjoy. Therefore the individuals can maintain a peaceful life and this habit promptes them to adjust them in difficult situations.

On the contrary there are people who oppose the former belief. They believe that adverse times are the part of life and teaches us how to unturn every difficulty to our own benefits. A person who never tries to face the situation remains at the same level and will never know what the future could have decided for him. Coversly an individual who tries to overcome hardships learns a valuable lesson everytime they triumph over the situation. Instead of stting idealy accepting the sutaution its better to try and enhance the quality of your life.

In conclusion, I reiterate that instead of naturally accepting the adversities a person should try to handle the situation. It would eventually lead us to a successful path.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on how to handle difficult situations and providing a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the second body paragraph offers some reasoning about why people might accept adverse situations to maintain peace and use time for alternative activities, the third body paragraph contains under-developed ideas and sweeping generalisations, such as claiming that a person who never tries will never know what the future held. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to fully extend and support all arguments with more precise reasoning and avoid generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at logical progression. The response is divided into four standard paragraphs, featuring an introduction, two body paragraphs representing different views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts in perspective, such as 'To begin with', 'On the contrary', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, as seen in awkward transitions and some repetitive referencing within sentences. To achieve a higher band, the writer must ensure that cohesive devices connect ideas more smoothly and invisibly, improving the overall flow between sentences and paragraphs without relying on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'adverse situation', 'retaliate', and 'adversities'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling throughout the text. Examples include 'belive' instead of 'believe', 'unturned' used where 'overcome' or 'resolved' is more appropriate, 'Coversly' instead of 'Conversely', and the frequent misspelling and awkward phrasing found in 'stting idealy accepting the sutaution'. These lexical errors and awkward collocations place the response firmly at this level. To improve, the writer should focus on expanding vocabulary precision, learning correct word forms, and carefully proofreading for spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as conditional and relative clauses. There are, however, several errors in grammar and punctuation that occur throughout the text. These include subject-verb agreement issues like 'adverse times are... and teaches', prepositional and structural slips such as 'acceptance towards an adverse situation', and punctuation or word form slips in phrases like 'leads to successful life'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the writing from reaching a higher bracket. To progress, the writer should focus on refining complex sentence structures, ensuring consistent subject-verb agreement, and mastering articles and plural forms.

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

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