Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-03

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)

It is debatable how some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation for example maybe an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money for which they might not have a control on while on the other hand, others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations rather than accepting. From my perspective, I think it's better if we accept an inevitable situation and move on without further getting more depressed by it.

It is better if people mostly accept a bad situation and move on with life rather than exagerating and worrying about it. There would be many turn of events in the life where the decisions may not work out in one's favor but it's okay because that's what life is. For instance, there is a wide range of people in many parts of the country who belong to the lower or lower middle class and it is very common for them to have financial crisis or chronic health issues and there might be some situations where they will not be able improve it no matter how hard they try. Therefore, rather than fighting for something which is inevitable, people should try to accept the situation and move on with their life.

Natural disasters are another significant cause for many such situations where financial issues are encountered as well as people loss but for those situations where people lose their near and dear ones, nothing can be done to reverse the situation. These are the kind of situations where people are no longer on the driving seat and instead they have to deal with the situation and move on. For example, there might be a child who would have lost their parents early in their childhood maybe due to some car accident or some natural calamity and nothing can be done in order for the child to get his parents back. It would be a sudden turning point for that child in his/her life but it is inevitable.

While there would be many situations where it's better to accept the situation and move on but there are some cases where if people do not take any action, things might get more worse. For situations like youth scoring low scores, if they don't take the action and study/focus more, they might lose time which later might affect their career and life.

To conclude, for the situations like natural disasters or financial crisis which are inevitable, people should accept the situations and move on rather than trying to change it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear opinion in the introduction and conclusion: you favour accepting situations that cannot be changed, while recognising that action is needed in some cases. The examples of bereavement and low exam scores are relevant, and the latter begins to address the opposing view. However, the discussion is uneven: most of the essay develops acceptance, while the case for trying to improve a bad situation receives only a brief paragraph and little explanation. The financial and disaster examples also focus on circumstances that may be unavoidable, rather than fully exploring situations such as an unsatisfactory job where improvement may be possible. Develop both views more evenly and explain when effort can realistically change circumstances.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the main position is generally easy to identify. Examples usually follow the point they illustrate. However, progression is limited because the first two body paragraphs repeat the idea that unavoidable hardship should be accepted, while the opposing view is compressed into one short paragraph. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, as in “While there would be many situations…” and “For situations like youth scoring low scores.” References such as “these are the kind of situations” also make the connection to the preceding point less precise. Give each paragraph a distinct purpose and use clearer transitions to show contrast and development.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to discuss hardship and change, including “inevitable,” “financial crisis,” “natural disasters” and “turning point.” These choices help communicate the topic, and some phrases show an attempt to express nuanced ideas. However, wording is often repetitive, particularly “situation,” “accept” and “move on,” and several collocations or forms are inaccurate: “exagerating” (spelling), “people loss,” “on the driving seat” and “more worse.” These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Build a wider set of expressions for coping, taking action and improving circumstances, and check spelling and common word combinations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while,” “where” and “because,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. However, complex sentences are not consistently controlled. For example, the opening sentence is overloaded and lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “there might be some situations where they will not be able improve it” is missing “to” before “improve.” Other issues include “people loss” within a sentence structure, “the decisions may not work out in one's favor but it's okay,” and inconsistent agreement in “a child who would have lost their parents.” Break long sentences into clearer units, check verb patterns and agreement, and use punctuation to separate contrasting ideas.

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