Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-07

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 group of people ponder that it is better to accept a difficult condition such as an unsatisfactory job or lack of money while others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations.This essay will shed light on both the perspectives before reaching a conclusion.

On the one hand,some problems are temporary and cannot be changed immediately so it is very better to accept such circumstances.Furthermore,accepting difficult situations help people to mitigate the stress and anxiety which also have positive impact on their health and body.Similarly,accepting bad situations allows people to focus on other important aspects of life.Meanwhile accepting such situations give them experience of bad days and make them strong and paitence to handle such circumstances

On the other hand,enhancing such situations have a very positive advanatages in a individual lifes.Firstly,if people are not satis with their job so they can tey to get better paid jobs to improve the financial conditions.Secondly,nowadays people have to make attention on developing new skills that a modern job requires rather than learning only limited courses.To exemplify,if a individual have vast knowledge of current academics subjects so they can get a better opportunities of employment and high salary.Additionally,if people are taking action on improving can increase in confidence and quality of life.

To conclude,in my opinion accepting the situation helps people to reduce stress and give them a good experience or patience whereas improving a worst situations give more confidence and better carrier opportunities which can people enhance their standard of life.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give an opinion, so the response addresses the main parts of the task. The first body paragraph explains that accepting difficulties may reduce stress and help people focus elsewhere; the second gives relevant examples about seeking better-paid work and developing skills. However, these points are brief and sometimes unclear, and the conclusion presents benefits of both approaches without making your preference fully explicit. The response is also 9 words below the required 250-word minimum; the 12 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. To strengthen the response, develop each main idea with a clearer explanation or example, and state directly which approach you consider better overall.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” help readers identify the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: several points are placed together without enough explanation, and the final sentence combines multiple ideas in a way that makes the conclusion difficult to follow. Some linking is also mechanical, with repeated “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Additionally.” Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and make sure references such as “such situations” have an unmistakable meaning. This would make the overall organisation more coherent and less repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “stress and anxiety,” “financial conditions,” “developing new skills,” and “quality of life.” These choices show an attempt to discuss both personal and employment-related consequences. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “situations” and “better,” while inaccurate word forms, spelling, and collocations sometimes make meaning less clear. Examples include “a individual lifes,” “paitence,” “advanatages,” and “better opportunities of employment.” Aim for more precise topic vocabulary and check spelling and natural word partnerships. For example, “improve their financial circumstances” is more natural than “improve the financial conditions,” and “career prospects” is more appropriate than “carrier opportunities.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional clauses such as “if people are not satis with their job so they can…” and a relative clause in “skills that a modern job requires.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, plurals, and sentence construction occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to read. For instance, “accepting difficult situations help people” needs subject–verb agreement, while “if a individual have” has errors in both the article and verb form. The final clause, “which can people enhance their standard of life,” is also not grammatically formed. Practise building accurate sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check agreement and word order.

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.