Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-20

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 individuals think that they should accept a bad situation while others believe that they should focus on imrpoving it. In my opinion, people should not lose hope and try to do better in any situation.

In our professional and personal failure may come but there are some people who easily accpet their failure. They even do not want to try once to do better in the future to overcome the situation. In addition, they stay in that situation without thinking of self improvement. Moreover, they think that it was written in their fate. As a result, they lack behind in the worklife. For example, an employee is working in a company and getting poor salary but he does not try to improve his skill. For this reason, he can not get the promotion easily. Moreover, he is blamig to his destiny and giving up to do better in the future.Therefore, he can not shine in life.

One the other hand, the person who believes in working hard to do better rather than accepting the situation can progress in life. The situation may not be on our favour always but we must try our best to do shine in life. We should remember that a single failure can be a hope for the future. Furthermore, we should always stay focus to our goa,l in order to become a successful person life. For example, if someone has less money, he should not give up rather he should think that how he can improve his situation and can earn money.

In conclusion, opinions may vary, in my prespective, people should not accept the bad situation rather he should try to overcome that situation smartly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state a consistent opinion: the introduction and conclusion support trying to improve difficult circumstances. The discussion of accepting a poor situation is relevant, and the employee example helps show a possible consequence. However, the two sides are not developed equally: the first is mainly presented as passivity and blame, while the reasons someone might reasonably accept a situation are not explored. The second view is also broad; the example of earning more money would be stronger if you explained a practical step, such as gaining skills or seeking better-paid work. Develop the motivations and consequences on both sides more fully to make the discussion more balanced and convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that restates your position. Examples are placed alongside the relevant ideas, and signposts such as “In addition,” “Moreover,” and “For example” help readers follow the discussion. At times, however, these connectors feel repetitive or mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. For instance, the move from fate to falling behind at work could be explained more explicitly. The conclusion also shifts from “people” to “he,” making the reference less consistent. Use fewer repeated transitions and make the relationship between each claim and its example clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “poor salary,” “promotion,” “self improvement,” and “overcome the situation.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems make the expression less natural. Phrases such as “lack behind,” “do shine in life,” and “stay focus to our goal” are not idiomatic, while “imrpoving,” “accpet,” and “blamig” are spelling errors. Repetition of “situation,” “better,” and “life” also limits precision. Build a bank of natural phrases for discussing employment and financial hardship, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses with “while,” “but,” “if,” and “in order to,” so the response shows some structural variety. Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “In our professional and personal failure may come” has an unclear sentence structure, and “the person who believes … can progress” shifts awkwardly into “we must try” and “our goal.” There are also errors in articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, as in “become a successful person life” and “future.Therefore.” Aim for complete, clearly formed sentences, keep the subject consistent, and proofread punctuation and agreement.

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

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