Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-04

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 5.0)

Many may believe it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. I agree, that it is indeed the best to accept and move on.

Firstly, many people go through ups and downs, but holding onto them will just demotivate and put us in guilt. Not accepting bad situation for instance, lack of money, we should take it as a positive sign and work harder, because hardwork eventually pays off at some point in our life. Moreover, some people find it hard to accept something that was not on their list for example, if they wanted to move to another country and they could not due to any underlying cause, they should accept it and try something new. Every good or bad situation has a cause, especially bad ones, and we tend to ignore them.

Secondly, acceptance can be diffcult but it might open doors we did not know about. Many people struggle with bad marriages and they are not ready to accept it, they emotinally are too overwhemled to accpet, that everything around them happening, is wrong. Acceptance shapes a person's mind and personality, it makes them stronger in ways they did not imagine. Accepting an unsatisfactory job where an employ is feeling unsafe, unhappy, or it is just not what they want to do for a living, they need to accept this as an experince and look for something that is well suited for them.

Finally, I think acceptance is not something bad, it is a way of growing, and teaches us patience and the ability to not give up so easily.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response gives a clear opinion in favour of acceptance, especially in the opening and conclusion, and includes relevant examples involving money, moving abroad, marriage and work. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the opposing view—actively trying to improve a bad situation—is not explained as a distinct argument. Instead, suggestions such as “work harder” and “look for something that is well suited” are folded into the case for acceptance, leaving your discussion incomplete. Several claims, including that every bad situation has a cause, are asserted rather than explained or supported. To strengthen the response, present the case for taking action in its own paragraph, then compare it with acceptance and clarify when each approach is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay has an identifiable introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly” and “Finally” help readers follow its broad structure. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the first body paragraph moves from money to motivation and then to moving abroad, while the second combines marriage, personal growth and employment without a clear central line. Some links are also awkward, as in “Not accepting bad situation for instance, lack of money,” which makes the relationship between the example and the claim difficult to follow. Develop one main point per paragraph, use clearer transitions between examples, and make the contrast between acceptance and efforts to improve explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonably varied set of topic-related expressions, including “ups and downs,” “open doors,” “shapes a person’s mind and personality,” and “well suited.” These choices help communicate ideas about resilience and change. However, some wording is imprecise or unnatural, such as “put us in guilt,” “accepting something that was not on their list,” and “everything around them happening.” Spelling errors—including “diffcult,” “emotinally,” “overwhemled,” “accpet” and “experince”—also reduce accuracy and polish. Aim for more precise collocations and proofread carefully; a wider range is useful only when the words fit the intended meaning naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more extended sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “if they wanted to move to another country and they could not” and a relative clause in “an unsatisfactory job where an employ is feeling unsafe.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation recur. For example, “I agree, that it is indeed the best to accept” has an unnecessary comma and an awkward construction, while “they emotinally are too overwhemled to accpet, that everything around them happening, is wrong” contains faulty clause structure and punctuation. Articles and agreement also need attention in “not accepting bad situation.” Practise building complete clauses and check commas, articles and verb forms during revision.

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