Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-04

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)

Every individual has their own opinion about choosing a good friend. Some group of individual thinks that choose a friend who have a same opinion as they have. Whereas, other group of people think that find a friend who is having a different opinion on some situation. I will give my opinion and explain both the side of these in the ensuing paragraphs.

On one hand, Having a good friend in a person's life it feels like blessings. People think that good friend is having a same mind set and opinion on same things makes strong bonding and long lasting friendship. Person gets attached more easily when they having a same kind of views and being comfortable more with each other. For example, in one research it is proven that friendship where 80% long lasting and having a deep bond when they have same opinion.

On the other hand, every individual have a their own point of view with various things and that is totally right. People believe good companion is when they disagree at some point is good one because they are showing us a reality what it is about and that is totally acceptable. Furthermore, these are who always stands out for help and motivate their partners. For Instance, In one study it is proved that people with different mind set having a 90% chances of having successful businesses.

I opine that, True friend is just like a mirror shows us a reflection of what we are and how we doing it and does not matters with right, wrong or having different views. Moreover, Friends who will guide, motivate and support us in every situation.

In conclusion, True friend is like building block of individual life which shows the reflection of surroundings well as represent the image of person.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention that friends with similar opinions create a 'strong bonding,' the explanation is brief and relies on vague references to 'research.' Similarly, the argument for friends with different opinions is supported by a questionable statistic about business success. To improve, you should focus on providing more logical, real-world reasoning rather than inventing statistics, which can make your arguments feel less credible. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and does not fully synthesize the points discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'On one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Furthermore.' However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the connection between ideas is weak, such as the transition into the conclusion. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly with the use of 'these are who' in the third paragraph. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'same mind set' instead of 'similar mindset' and 'building block of individual life.' You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with collocations. To reach a higher band, you should work on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical context. Avoid repetitive phrasing like 'same opinion' and 'different opinion' by using more varied language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the essay that occasionally impede readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('Some group of individual thinks'), article usage ('in one research'), and sentence structure ('People think that good friend is having a same mind set'). You rely heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at more complex sentences often contain errors. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and the proper use of relative clauses. Proofreading for these common errors would significantly improve the clarity of your writing.

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

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