Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-06

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 an ongoing debate, wheather it is best for people to accept a bad situation while others argue that it is better to try and improve such sitautions. Although both views have their merits, In my opinion people should try their best possible to cope with bad situations.

On the one hand, people believe that it is important to solve the problems of life. When people decide to improve the bad satuation such as unsatisfactory job or shortage of money, they eventually get rewarded. Everything can be changed through hardwork and dedication. People should have believe in themselves so than they can achieve everything in life which suits them. A common phrase is "Necessity is the mother of invention."

For example one of my friend work in a company as a clerk, decided to find his dream job of teaching. He workhard day night and eventually clear the competitive exam. Now he is doing his dream job happily.

On the other hand, some people believe it is best to accept the bad days. They think these things are written in their destiny. So it is better to accept the problems of life and manage it accordingly. They think if they leave the job where they are unsatisfied, perhaps they will not find a new job.

In conclusion, instead of accepting the bad situations as a result of destiny. In my opinion we should work hard and try our best to overcome the hurdles of life and do what we want to.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

It is important to note first that the length requirement is not met, as the response contains 241 words, which is 9 words short of the 250-word minimum (11 words copied directly from the task prompt were excluded). Regarding task fulfillment, the response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views and providing an opinion, which sits at this level. However, the position is not always clearly articulated and the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the arguments concerning why people accept bad situations are briefly mentioned as being 'written in their destiny' without deeper elaboration or supporting examples. Similarly, the body paragraph supporting improvement relies on a single personal anecdote about a friend rather than broader, well-developed reasoning. To reach a higher band, the writer would need to fully develop both viewpoints with extended explanations and ensure the word count requirement is satisfied.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some overall organization with recognizable introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs, and attempts at logical sequencing. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression throughout the text. Cohesive devices are at times inadequate, inaccurate, or repetitive, such as the mechanical use of 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' without sophisticated links between sentences. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, and paragraphing is disrupted by formatting inconsistencies and isolated sentences. For example, the sentence featuring 'Necessity is the mother of invention' stands alone and lacks smooth integration into the surrounding discourse. To improve coherence and cohesion, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices, ensure logical transitions between ideas, and maintain a consistent structure across all paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey basic ideas about accepting or improving life situations. There are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include spelling errors such as 'wheather' for whether and 'sitautions' for situations, as well as lexical inaccuracies like 'workhard day night' instead of working hard day and night, and 'have believe' instead of have belief. Less common vocabulary items are attempted, but they frequently contain errors. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to expand their lexical repertoire, pay closer attention to word forms and collocations, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes to ensure smoother communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside frequent attempts at complex sentences that often turn out faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles that can cause difficulty for the reader. For instance, the opening sentence contains a tense and agreement flaw ('wheather it is best... while others argue'), and the example paragraph contains missing auxiliary verbs and incorrect tense usage, such as 'one of my friend work' instead of works, and 'eventually clear' instead of eventually cleared. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with run-on structures and sentence fragments. To progress to the next level, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with greater accuracy, ensuring proper verb tense consistency and agreement throughout.

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

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