Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-10

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some say that the most important thing about being rich is that one has the opportunity to help others. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Many people argue that the important thing about being rich is that the person has the opportunity to help others. Being rich is a blessing from God and an individuals handwork.

For one to be rich means he can afford all his basic needs and be able to afford anything he or she wants. And before one becomes rich it requires much sacrifices such as hardworking and savings, which does not mean he must help everyone he sees it is by his choice to help or not.

However, I strongly agree that being rich gives one opportunity to help us because one can't give what he does not have, which means that if you can solve your problems and still have much left you can be able to extend helping hands to others.

Also many people always want to help others but when they look at what they have and is not enough it will reduce the zeal to want to help others which means not having the opportunity to help.

For instance if one has just one sneaker in school and the person wants to help his fellow student he wont be able to do that because he has little but if he has like three he can be able to give out one and still having one remining for him.

Conclusively, I agree that being rich gives one opportunity to help because a rich person is always a happy person and when one is happy he will also want to extend hand to others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of the idea that wealth provides an opportunity to help others. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. While you provide a basic example regarding sneakers, the argument lacks depth and fails to explore the broader societal implications of wealth and philanthropy. The essay tends to over-generalize, and some points, such as the claim that 'a rich person is always a happy person,' are not fully supported or logically connected to the main argument. To improve, you should aim to expand your supporting points with more nuanced reasoning and varied examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition 'Also' is used to start a paragraph, and the connection between sentences is sometimes weak, making the flow feel disjointed. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'help us' where the antecedent is not explicitly defined. While there is an overall progression, the logical links between ideas could be strengthened by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence builds clearly upon the previous one.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You rely on simple terms like 'help,' 'rich,' and 'things.' There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'individuals handwork' (should be 'individual's hard work') and 'zeal to want to help.' The range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise synonyms and collocations, such as 'philanthropy,' 'financial stability,' or 'altruism,' to express your ideas with greater sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'what they have and is not enough'), incorrect pronoun usage, and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring consistent verb tenses would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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