Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-04

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)

Opinions sometimes differ as to whether nowadays, few people prefer to choose friends who have same opinons with them or others thinks that good to make differnt opinion friends. Although both views have their own merits , I would side with the having friends sometimes different opinion viewpoint on this matter.

On the one hand, those who consider always good to make similiar opinion friends argue that, avoid debates, as they might thinks that best friends now easily separated just only because of disagrrements on their discussions either its personal or professional. To exemplify it, high school discussion sometimes turns into conflicts among youngsters. In resluts, it could cause negative impct on society wellness among adulthood. Another argument is that to increase intellecutal power because most of the people apprecaiting unique ideas which is not only improving mental ability but also strengths the human mindsets with new ideas during converstaions.

However, despite the aforementioned arguments, I believe that more preferable to choose friends with different opinions, firstly, it may proves beneficial for problem solving skills as during class discussions or other professional discussiond between students and workers might improves their work capabilities. For instance, when employers may assign different tasks to employees they could fix their professional work struggles by make disagreements with differnet tasks for achieving excellent results to make company more proudfull. Secondly, if people might struggles with theor mental stress then they can discuss with others to reduce that anxiety about particular topic which can be usefull too. For example, when person can share their problems with their friends to get the different viewpoint on the particular issue to overcome it.

In conclusion, although there are some argumnets in favour of good to have same opinion friends, I believe diffe ret opinion friends to be better as similiar opinion freinds.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—choosing friends with similar opinions versus choosing friends with different opinions—and presents a clear personal position in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is limited and at times unclear, which keeps the response at this level. For instance, the discussion on how similar opinions help avoid debates is supported by a brief mention of high school discussions turning into conflicts, but this point remains underdeveloped and somewhat repetitive. Similarly, the arguments regarding problem-solving skills and mental stress are introduced with examples like employers assigning tasks or individuals sharing problems, yet these explanations lack depth and clear extension. To reach a higher standard, the writer would need to fully develop each main idea with more detailed, specific explanations and well-elaborated examples that directly link back to the prompt's core question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation present, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each side of the argument, and a conclusion. However, the response lacks a clear overall progression, and the logical flow is frequently disrupted by awkward phrasing and inadequate or repetitive cohesive devices. While transitional markers such as 'On the one hand', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are attempted, referencing and transitions within paragraphs are often mechanical and unclear. For example, the transition into the second body paragraph relies on repetitive structures like 'Another argument is that...', and sentences within paragraphs sometimes lack smooth logical links. Paragraphing is used to separate the different viewpoints, but internal cohesion requires better management. To improve, the writer needs to ensure that sentences flow naturally into one another with more precise and varied cohesive ties, establishing a clearer and more logical progression of thought throughout the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'intellecutal power', 'wellness', and 'capabilities', but noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling cause some difficulty for the reader. There are frequent lexical inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'have same opinons with them' instead of 'share the same opinions', 'similiar opinion friends', 'differnt opinion friends', and spelling mistakes like 'resluts', 'impct', 'apprecaiting', 'strengths', 'converstaions', 'discussd', 'proudfull', 'struglles', 'theor', 'usefull', 'argumnets', 'diffe ret', and 'freinds'. These errors indicate a lack of precision and control over lexical items. To move up to a higher band, the writer must expand their vocabulary range, pay closer attention to correct word forms and collocations, and eliminate spelling mistakes that impede smooth communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on basic sentence forms alongside attempts at complex sentences that are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement, verb tense consistency, missing articles, and awkward prepositional patterns. Examples of these frequent errors include 'others thinks that good', 'avoid debates, as they might thinks', 'either its personal', 'In resluts, it could cause', 'most of the people apprecaiting', 'more preferable to choose', 'when employers may assign different tasks to employees they could fix', 'by make disagreements', and 'when person can share'. These structural inaccuracies occur frequently and often cause difficulty for the reader in grasping the intended meaning. To achieve a better score, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex structures with greater accuracy, ensuring proper subject-verb agreement, accurate verb forms, and sound clause construction.

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

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