Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries, paying for things using mobile phone (cellphone) apps is becoming increasingly common. Does this development have more advantages or more disadvantages?

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

Student answer (Band 6.5)

The rate of cellphone app use in payment of things has become increasingly popular in many nations today and i am of the opinion that this upgrade has a lot more advantages than disadvantages.

The advancement of technology brought about the use of mobile phone apps to make payment for goods as opposed to bank cards which everyone is familiar with. People carry their mobile phone about all the time, it is so rare to see an individual outside without their cellphone and at such it's easier to bring it out to make payment for goods purchased anywhere.

In addition, it ensures improved security. Mobile payments can be protected with passowords, pins, fingerprints and facial recognition. People are less likely to lose money through pickpocketing or physical theft. The mobile app notifications helps people monitor their spending too.

It also helps small business grow. One can receive payment without investting in expensive payment infrastructure and it allow businesses serve more customers as well as the ability to accept payment from customers in different locations.

Futhermore, it reduces the need carry cash all about which leads to overspending at times. For instance, when i have cash at hand its very difficult for me to take my eyes off items, i just pick and pay right away but when i think about going to my app first and unlocking it putting the password. Its a long process and perhaps i don't have enough money for the purchase, my account balance sets me straight right away.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe mobile payments have more advantages than disadvantages. You support this view with several relevant points, including convenience, security, benefits for small businesses, and reduced impulse spending. The personal example about checking your balance helps make the final point concrete. These ideas are generally extended and supported, although some claims remain broad: for example, the benefits to small businesses are listed without a specific illustration, and the comparison with cash could be explained more precisely. The response addresses the question directly throughout; developing one or two examples further and acknowledging a possible disadvantage before explaining why the benefits outweigh it would make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: it introduces your position, then presents several advantages in separate paragraphs, with linking expressions such as “In addition” and “Furthermore.” This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. Paragraphing is appropriate, and the personal example gives the final point a clear focus. Some connections between ideas could be smoother, however. The paragraph about small businesses moves quickly from lower costs to serving more customers and accepting payments in different locations, without explaining how these points relate. The final example also shifts into a long sequence of actions. Use clearer sentence boundaries and occasional reference phrases to connect each explanation to its main claim, while avoiding a list-like progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “facial recognition,” “physical theft,” “payment infrastructure,” and “account balance.” These choices help communicate relevant ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “rate of cellphone app use in payment of things,” “carry their mobile phone about,” and “accept payment from customers in different locations.” There are also spelling errors, including “passowords,” “investting,” and “Futhermore,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural topic-specific phrasing, such as “mobile payment apps,” “carry their phones,” and “accept payments from customers in different locations.” Proofreading for spelling and word forms would make your vocabulary more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the explanation beginning “People are less likely to lose money…” and the conditional example about having cash. Your meaning is usually understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “The mobile app notifications helps” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “without investting” and “it allow businesses serve” show problems with verb forms and sentence patterns. The final example contains a run-on sequence: “when i think about going to my app first and unlocking it putting the password.” Capitalisation and punctuation also need attention, particularly the repeated lowercase “i.” Practise building accurate clauses with clear subjects and verbs, and divide longer explanations into complete sentences.

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