Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-22

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)

Many people argue that in unpleasent situations, the best way to deal with them is to accept them, while others argue the opposite, and suggest that the best way to deal with these unpleasent situations is to attempt to improve them.

Which one of the two points of view is more reasonable?

Personally, i agree with people who suggest that the best way to deal with an unpleasent situation is to try to improve it, in defense of my opinion i give the following reasons :

Firstly, if change is possible then it should be persuied, because submitting to the bad situation and doing nothing about it even tho you can change it is just defeat or cowerdness.

Furthermore, even if the attempt of a change fails, the person will feel proud of himsellf because he tried to change his situation to the better.

I add the example of my previous problem in school, where i wasn't good at studying and failed almost all of my classes, i tried my best to change my situation, and organised my time and my tasks, and at the end i graduated highschool with fairly a good grade.

In conclusion, i agree with people who suggest that the best way to deal with an unpleasent situation is to try to improve it, and i find their point of view more reasonable than the other one that suggest acceptence of a bad situation is the best way to deal with it. We also conclude that persuing change if possible is the best option to deal with any bad situation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

Your position is clear: you favour trying to improve a bad situation, and you give relevant support through the school example. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the opposing view is only mentioned in the introduction and conclusion. You do not explain why someone might accept an unsatisfactory job or financial difficulty—for example, because change may be risky or outside their control. Your reasons for your own view are also brief: the claims about avoiding “defeat or cowardness” and feeling proud are not explored in much detail. To strengthen the response, explain both perspectives and develop each main point with a clear reason and supporting example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph supporting your opinion, and a conclusion that restates your position. Sequencing words such as “Firstly” and “Furthermore” help signal the order of ideas, and the school example follows the point about making an effort. However, the discussion does not progress through both sides of the question: the opposing view receives no separate development. Some links are mechanical or unclear, particularly “I add the example,” and the long sentence about your school experience combines several stages without clear separation. Use distinct body paragraphs for the two views, and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate your main position and give a personal example, including phrases such as “attempt to improve,” “submitting to,” and “organised my time.” However, the range is limited by repeated use of “unpleasant situation,” “best way to deal with,” and “change.” Several spelling errors—“unpleasent,” “persuied,” “cowerdness,” and “himsellf”—are noticeable, while “change to the better” is an unnatural collocation. These do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument, but they reduce precision and control. Build a wider set of expressions for acceptance, improvement, and constraints, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional clauses such as “if change is possible then it should be…” and a concession beginning “even if the attempt…fails.” The main meaning is generally clear, but sentence control is uneven. The school example is a run-on sentence, joining several independent ideas with commas, and the opening question, “Which one of the two points of view is more reasonable?”, is unnecessary and interrupts the essay’s flow. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “i” and the space before the colon in “reasons :”. Practise separating long sentences and checking sentence boundaries, capital letters, and punctuation.

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.