Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-12

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 5.5)

Nowadays in few nations, paying for goods using like mobile phone apps is becoming increasingly usual. This development have more benefits than the demerits.

To begin with, the advantages it is save and convient mode for paying. In other words, nowadays carrying a cash is more risker due to theif crimes. Moreover, people can pay quickly by just scanning bar codes at shops during shopping. For example, a survey was conducted in USA in 2024, they found that 80 percent of individuals prefer online payment methods in order to save their time and to stay away from robbery crimes. As a result, if people use mobile phone while shopping , it would be not only helpful to save a lot of time , but also masses can protect their self from robbers.

Shifting to another benefit, people can track their expense as well as they can also set limits on their spends. To explain it, sometime people forget where they invest their money, if they pay by using mobile phone they can view all the payment histories including receipts. In tandem with this, people can also save a lot of money While settings limits on their banks application. For instance, oftenly many individuals wants to save their money to their manage another expenses, if they use online banking systems they can spend only limited amounts while buying goods.

In conclusion, although their is risk of hacking by using online payment methods. Yet, it would be great to save time ,money and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by identifying the advantages of mobile payment apps. However, the essay is incomplete; it ends abruptly in the conclusion without finishing the final sentence or providing a full summary. While the position is clear, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding security and time-saving. The inclusion of a specific example (the 2024 USA survey) is a positive attempt to support the argument, but the overall lack of a complete conclusion significantly impacts the task completion. To reach a higher band, ensure all parts of the essay are fully developed and that the conclusion provides a comprehensive summary of the main points discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' to structure the response. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'they found that 80 percent' where the antecedent is not explicitly defined. Paragraphing is present, but the final paragraph is incomplete, which disrupts the logical flow of the argument. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices to link sentences more naturally and ensure that every paragraph is fully developed to maintain a smooth logical progression throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'carrying a cash is more risker' (should be 'carrying cash is riskier') and 'theif crimes' (should be 'theft'). The use of 'masses' is slightly unnatural in this context. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'online banking systems' and 'payment histories', the overall range is limited. To improve, focus on learning collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical form.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'This development have more benefits' (subject-verb agreement error), 'carrying a cash' (incorrect article usage), and 'oftenly' (non-existent word). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and proofreading for basic spelling and morphological errors.

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

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