Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people like to try new things, for example, places to visit and types of food. Other people prefer to keep doing things they are familiar with.

Discuss both these attitudes and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In contemporary society, people preferences change with time. However, there are number of individuals who want to try new things; in contrast another group of people keep doing the same things they are used to it. To some extent change is better in life. This essay will analyze both these aspects.

There are significant number of people who are continously trying new things like visiting new places, play new sports and trying different cuisines because in their opinion repeating same things make life boring. Their choices are evolving with time. They try to do any new activity which is in trend. The number of studies have showed that a change in routine or environment is beneficial for mental health. It is also suggested that one should explore new things, meet new people, know about different cultures and languages. Trying new activities always give a new experience and a wise person is one who learn from his experiences.

On the other hand, another group of individuals prefer to stay in their comfort zone. They keep repeating the same thing over and over again. One of the reasons can be they are afraid of change and do not want to involve themselves in any trouble. However, sometime it is a wise choice to stick with the things one is fimiliar with. For instance, an individual is visiting a new place he is not fimiliar with, chances are there they may be end up in a trouble.

From my perspective, change is better for a healthy and active life but one should not cross the boundries. Unless the change is not causing any harm it is beneficial. One should try new things because it is a human nature to evolve with time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both attitudes towards trying new things versus sticking to the familiar, and it includes a clear personal opinion. However, some ideas remain under-developed or somewhat generalized. For instance, the discussion on why people prefer the familiar mentions that they might be afraid of trouble, but this point is only briefly illustrated with a single, underdeveloped example about a traveler getting into difficulty. Similarly, the points supporting novelty are stated rather than fully extended with deep elaboration. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to provide more fully elaborated arguments and deeper explanations for both perspectives, ensuring that every main idea is supported with detailed reasoning rather than surface-level assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and the body paragraphs logically separate the two opposing viewpoints. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the response. However, cohesion at times feels a bit mechanical or repetitive, particularly in the transitions between sentences. Phrases like 'On the other hand, another group of individuals' show a basic attempt to link ideas, but referencing and cohesive devices are occasionally simple or slightly faulty. To achieve a higher level of cohesion, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices, ensuring smoother logical transitions between sentences and avoiding repetitive organizational patterns.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'contemporary society' and 'cuisines'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and spelling. For instance, the student writes 'continously' instead of 'continuously' and 'fimiliar' instead of 'familiar'. There are also minor collocational slips, such as 'play new sports' alongside 'visiting new places' and 'trying different cuisines', where verb collocation could be more precise. To reach the next band, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire, minimize spelling and word-form errors, and demonstrate greater precision and naturalness when incorporating less common vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied structures through clauses introduced by 'because', 'although', or relative pronouns. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the text that cause occasional difficulty for the reader. Examples include missing articles or pluralization issues, such as 'people preferences change' instead of 'people's preferences', and structural awkwardness like 'used to it' instead of 'used to'. Additionally, there are punctuation slips and preposition errors within grammatical patterns. To improve, the writer needs to increase control over complex sentence structures and significantly reduce the frequency of basic grammatical errors.

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

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