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Cambridge 14 Writing Task 2 Test 1 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)
Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Response, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.
The Prompt
Accepting Bad Situations vs. Working to Improve Them
Some people think that it is better to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or a shortage of money, rather than try to improve it.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
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278 wordsConcedes a narrow exception before firmly rejecting the statement for the two examples actually given, rather than arguing in the abstract.
Whether it is wiser to accept a difficult situation or to actively try to change it depends heavily on the circumstances involved, but I firmly disagree with the view that acceptance is generally the better approach, since most unsatisfactory situations can be improved with sufficient effort and often should be.
There is admittedly some value in acceptance when a situation genuinely cannot be changed, such as a permanent disability or the loss of a loved one, where continuing to fight against reality can cause unnecessary psychological distress. In such cases, acceptance can be a healthy coping mechanism rather than mere passivity.
However, for the specific examples given in the statement, an unsatisfactory job or a shortage of money, acceptance is rarely the better strategy, since both situations typically respond to deliberate action. Someone in an unfulfilling job can retrain, network, or apply elsewhere, while someone short of money can budget more carefully, seek additional income, or acquire new skills that improve their earning potential. History is full of examples of people who transformed difficult financial circumstances through persistence and hard work rather than resignation, and encouraging acceptance in these situations risks fostering a fatalistic attitude that ultimately traps people in circumstances they could realistically escape. Even modest, incremental changes, such as gradually building new skills or slowly paying down debt, can compound significantly over time and lead to outcomes far better than simple resignation would ever allow.
In conclusion, while acceptance has its place when a situation is genuinely unchangeable, I strongly disagree that this applies to solvable problems like an unsatisfactory job or financial hardship, where taking action is almost always the wiser and more empowering path.
Examiner Notes
Task Response: Directly addresses 'to what extent' with a firm, well-justified disagreement, and draws a genuine, well-reasoned distinction between situations that truly cannot be changed and the two solvable examples given in the prompt.
Coherence & Cohesion: Each paragraph builds logically toward the conclusion, and cohesive devices ("however", "in conclusion") signal the argument's structure precisely throughout.
Lexical Resource: Wide range of precise vocabulary ("resignation", "fatalistic attitude", "empowering") used with natural collocation.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of complex structures, including relative and non-finite clauses, used with full accuracy.
Band 8
252 wordsA clear, well-supported disagreement, just slightly less tightly argued than a band 9 answer.
Some people believe it is better to accept a difficult situation, such as a bad job or a lack of money, rather than trying to change it. I disagree with this view, because I believe most problems like these can be solved through effort and action.
It is true that acceptance can be helpful in some situations, particularly ones that genuinely cannot be changed, such as the loss of a family member. In these cases, trying to fight against something impossible to change can cause more stress than simply accepting it.
However, for problems like an unsatisfactory job or a shortage of money, I don't think acceptance is usually the right approach. Someone who dislikes their job can look for a new one, develop new skills, or ask for a promotion, and someone with money problems can create a budget, find an additional source of income, or learn new skills to increase their earning potential. Many successful people started in difficult financial situations and only improved their lives because they took action instead of accepting things as they were. Even small, steady changes, such as slowly building new skills or gradually paying off debt, can add up to a much better outcome over time than simply accepting a difficult situation would.
In conclusion, while I accept that acceptance can be useful for situations that truly cannot be changed, I disagree that this applies to solvable problems like a bad job or financial difficulty, where taking action is usually a much better solution.
Examiner Notes
Task Response: Addresses 'to what extent' with a clear, well-supported disagreement, though the reasoning is slightly less integrated than the band 9 answer's.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clear four-paragraph structure with accurate cohesive devices throughout.
Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary, though "a much better solution" is more general than the higher-band answer's more precise phrasing.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Mostly accurate complex sentences with only rare minor slips.
Band 7
256 wordsA clear, reasoned answer that would be stronger with one concrete example to anchor its argument.
Some people think it is better to accept a bad situation, such as a job someone does not like or not having enough money, instead of trying to change it. I disagree with this opinion.
I understand that acceptance can be helpful sometimes, for example when something bad happens that cannot be changed, like the death of a family member. In this kind of situation, trying to fight against what happened will probably only cause more pain.
However, for problems like a bad job or not having enough money, I think it is much better to try to improve the situation instead of just accepting it. For example, someone with a job they do not like can try to find a new job or learn new skills to get a better one. Someone who does not have enough money can try to save more carefully or find a way to earn extra money. These kinds of small changes might not fix the problem immediately, but they can build up over time and eventually lead to a much better situation than simply accepting things as they are. This is what makes trying so worthwhile.
In my opinion, accepting these kinds of problems without trying to fix them can make life worse in the long run, because the problem will probably continue if nothing is done about it.
In conclusion, I disagree that it is better to just accept a bad job or a lack of money, because in most cases, these problems can be improved through action.
Examiner Notes
Task Response: Addresses 'to what extent' with a clear position, but no specific real-world example (a person, a case) is used to support the reasoning, unlike the higher-band answer's more developed argument.
Coherence & Cohesion: Organised logically with one clear idea per paragraph; cohesive devices ("However", "In conclusion") are accurate but predictable.
Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task, with some repetition of "problem" and "situation" throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate mix of simple and complex sentences; meaning is always clear.
Band 6.5
254 wordsThe reasoning is clear and logically organised, but agreement errors on nearly every key task word noticeably lower the score.
Some people think it is better to accept bad situation, such as job someone does not like or not having enough money, instead of trying to change it. I disagree with this opinion.
I understand that acceptance can be helpful sometimes, for example when something bad happen that cannot be change, like the death of family member. In this kind of situation, trying to fight against what happened will probably only cause more pain.
However, for problem like bad job or not having enough money, I think it is much better to try to improve the situation instead of just accepting it. For example, someone with job they do not like can try to find new job or learn new skill to get better one. Someone who does not have enough money can try to save more carefully or find way to earn extra money. These kind of small change might not fix the problem immediately, but they can build up over time and eventually lead to much better situation than simply accepting things as they are. This is what make trying so worthwhile. Many people has prove this true in real life.
In my opinion, accepting these kind of problem without trying to fix it can make life worse in the long run, because the problem will probably continue if nothing is done about it.
In conclusion, I disagree that it is better to just accept bad job or lack of money, because in most case, this problem can be improve through action.
Examiner Notes
Task Response: Addresses 'to what extent' with a clear position, matching the content of the band 7 answer, but grammar errors throughout reduce clarity.
Coherence & Cohesion: Follows the same one-idea-per-paragraph structure as the higher-band answers.
Lexical Resource: Limited by missing plurals on key task words ("situation", "problem", "skill") used throughout instead of their plural forms.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("something bad happen", "for problem like bad job", "this problem can be improve") appear on nearly every sentence.
Band 4-5 - What to Avoid
44 wordsStates a position but never explains to what extent, and stays well under the required length.
I disagree, I think people should try to change bad situation, not just accept it.
If job is bad, find new job. If no money, work more or save money.
I think action is better than accept, this is my opinion about this topic.
Examiner Notes
Task Response: States disagreement but gives almost no development, each idea gets a single unsupported sentence, so the instruction to explain 'to what extent' is not really fulfilled. At well under 250 words, the response is also underlength.
Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphs list ideas without connecting them into a developing argument.
Lexical Resource: Extremely basic and repetitive vocabulary ("bad", "good", "find") with no attempt at more varied language.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors, including missing articles and imperative-style phrasing ("If job is bad, find new job").
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