Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-24

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think it's better to choose friends who always have the same opinions as them. Other people believe it's good to have friends who sometimes disagree with them.

Discuss both these views 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)

Friends plays very crucial role in our lives. As, they always there in our bad and good time but choosing a good friend is always very important. Moreover, there are two types of friends who always agree or disagree with our points but both are equally important to us.

Firstly, having a friend who always have same opinion as we is crucial because having same ideas or opinions makes our friendship more stronger, and also motivates you to share ideas in front of everyone. To exemplify, one day i am sharing my point on wildfire with our classmates but everyone disagree with me but my friend John agreed with my point and which makes me more comfortable and motivated during the group debate.

Secondly, it's also good to have a kind of friend who sometimes disagree with our point of view because at sometime you need a reality check of having a wrong knowledge about something. Furthermore, this type of situation could break your friendship but you should take that suggestion or conflict as a feedback. For example, while at my work one of my friend refused to agree with me on how to make a good orange juice, as he knows the best way to make juice but instead of defending myself i take that as an feedback so should i can improve in future.

To conclude, having friends with both these qualities is really an a award from God. Because in this modern era it is very difficult to have good friends who stands with you and also give good suggestions during the right time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both viewpoints and providing a personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefit of emotional support from like-minded friends and the value of constructive criticism from those who disagree. However, the development is somewhat limited. The examples provided, such as the 'wildfire' debate and the 'orange juice' anecdote, are personal but could be more effectively linked to broader social or psychological concepts to achieve a higher band. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of analysis remains at a basic level, preventing it from reaching the higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Furthermore', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the referencing is occasionally slightly awkward, such as in the sentence '...my friend John agreed with my point and which makes me more comfortable'. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to their antecedents would enhance the overall coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'good' and 'friend'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'reality check' and 'conflict', there are errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'friendship more stronger' (should be 'stronger') and 'an a award' (should be 'an award'). To improve, the student should focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring accurate collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's flow. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Friends plays', 'everyone disagree'), article misuse ('a feedback'), and awkward phrasing ('so should i can improve'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors indicates a lack of control over complex structures. To reach a higher band, the student needs to focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly verb tenses and subject-verb agreement.

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

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