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)

In today's time hardly few people are satisfied with the work they do, on the other hand some of them have accepted their fate and have learnt to deal with any unfavourable situation or a job which does not pay well or if they have any financial troubles.

Bieng satisfied with what one has is a very diffrent thing if compared to being ambitious. Having gratitude and satisfaction which what we hae is very important because we learn to value those things in our lives. However not putting efforts to grow and being stagnant shoul also not be the case where a person does not wish to move forward and is stuck to one particular point. In my opinion a person should always be thankful of what he or she has but due to that one should not give up on not wanting to make things better.

Being ambitious and driven to a particular goal makes us to do better in our particular feild. That should always be there however there should not be the feeling of greed in ourselves which may have negative impact over our lives. Our dreams along with our family are two key reasons which makes us ambitious and thus helps us to achieve our goals, these two key reasons help us to stay motivated and goal oriented.

To conclude I would like to say that we should be grateful to the opportunities we recieve but not to brag about it. Also to be driven towards our goals and never stop to make efforts to make things better.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both perspectives and give a clear personal view: people should appreciate what they have while still trying to improve their circumstances. The discussion of acceptance is relevant, particularly the point that gratitude helps people value what they have, and you also explain how ambition can motivate progress. However, the two views are not explored equally or in much detail. The case for accepting a difficult situation could be developed with a specific reason or example, and the benefits and risks of trying to improve circumstances could be explained more fully. Your opinion is clear, but some claims—such as family and dreams being key reasons for ambition—are asserted rather than supported. Develop these ideas with concrete examples to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to discussion, a personal position, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps separate the main points, and phrases such as “In my opinion” and “To conclude” make your stance easy to identify. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the second paragraph moves from gratitude to ambition without a sufficiently explicit link, while the third introduces family and dreams without showing how these relate to the earlier discussion of accepting or improving a bad situation. Some linking is also mechanical or repetitive, especially repeated uses of “however” and “also.” Use clearer topic sentences and connect each supporting point directly to the question.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “unfavourable situation,” “ambitious,” “stagnant,” “greed,” and “goal oriented.” These choices show an attempt to express more than basic ideas, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, several spelling errors and awkward or imprecise expressions reduce accuracy, such as “Bieng,” “diffrent,” “feild,” and “recieve.” Phrases including “In today's time,” “satisfied with the work they do,” and “make us to do better” are not natural or well controlled. Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, use “nowadays,” “improve our performance,” and “make us do better.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “if,” and your main ideas can generally be followed. Some sentence structures are controlled, such as “In my opinion a person should always be thankful of what he or she has.” However, there are some errors in sentence formation, agreement, and punctuation. The opening is a long run-on sentence joined by a comma, and “Having gratitude and satisfaction which what we hae” has an incorrect clause structure. In “Our dreams along with our family are two key reasons which makes us ambitious,” the verb does not agree with the plural subject. Review sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement, and clause construction, while continuing to use varied sentence forms.

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.