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)

Some people think that it is better to accept a worse situation in terms of unsatisfactory job or low level of income. On the other hand, some argue that it is good to try to improve such situation. Although, unsatisfactory job has a negative impact on mental health and standard of living, it is better to try to improve this situation. From my perspectiv, it is better to try to improve such situation by learning new skills. The details of arguments are given in the following paragraphs.

the undervalued job may leads to several issues. For example, it affects the peace of mind in terms of depression which is not good for living a normal life. In addition, it also has a considerable negative impact on the standard of living. When there is shortage of money, people may not avail health and education facilities efficiently. Cosequently, living standard will be low which is not good for any society. Although, it has negative impacts, to try to better this situation may outweigh its unfavourable effects.

Some one should try to improve in such condition. If job is unsatisfactory or there is a small amount of money, individual should expand more employment opportunities for itself. For example, learning new skill according to the market demand that can help to get a good job and to increase the level of income. Moreover, it not only provides a good employment oportunity but also improves the standard of living of the people. As a result, its overall impact will be positive.

In a nutshell, there are both groups. According to the first group, unsatsfactory job or shoratge of money should be accepted whereas second group of the pople considere that the someone should try to improve this situation. In my opinion, it better to try to improve this by learning new skills which opens the new and better emplyment opportunities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state a consistent opinion: you explain the negative effects of poor work or low income, then argue that people should try to improve their circumstances by learning skills. The examples about mental health, access to health and education, and employment opportunities are relevant. However, the discussion of accepting a bad situation is brief: it mainly lists disadvantages and does not explain why someone might choose acceptance, such as stability or limited alternatives. Several claims in the improvement argument are also asserted rather than developed. To strengthen the response, explain the reasoning behind both positions and extend one example with a clearer cause-and-effect link.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion. The progression from the effects of a poor situation to ways of improving it is generally easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “For example,” “In addition” and “As a result” help signal relationships. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The first body paragraph ends with “to try to better this situation may outweigh its unfavourable effects,” which does not clearly connect the preceding disadvantages to the next paragraph. The conclusion repeats the two positions rather than synthesising the discussion. Use clearer transitions between ideas and ensure each paragraph has one distinct purpose.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “mental health,” “standard of living,” “employment opportunities” and “market demand.” These choices make the main ideas understandable, and you attempt some less common expressions such as “unfavourable effects.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive: “undervalued job” does not clearly mean an unsatisfactory job, and “expand more employment opportunities for itself” is unnatural. Spelling errors such as “Cosequently,” “oportunity,” “unsatsfactory” and “emplyment” are noticeable. Aim for precise, natural phrases and proofread spelling; for example, use “seek better employment” rather than “expand more employment opportunities for itself.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea in “When there is shortage of money, people may not avail…” and a relative clause in “new skill according to the market demand that can help…”. The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the undervalued job may leads” has incorrect subject–verb agreement and verb form; “If job is unsatisfactory” needs an article, and “it better to try” is missing a verb. There are also problems with sentence boundaries and punctuation, including the comma after “Although” at the start of sentences. Review articles, agreement and clause construction, then check each sentence for a complete and correctly punctuated structure.

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.