Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In recent decades due to technological innovations many countries around the globe are leveraging payment apps for making daily or recurring payments. This essay will include its merits and demerits before reaching to a conclusion.

The most crucial advantage of using payment apps is ease of making the payment, it quick and reliable. Earlier cash and card were the only two options for which an individual has to physically present to make the payments but now they are just one click away through these apps which is replacing the old traditional ways of transactions. Another important aspect is safety and security, each and every transaction is protected through multiple protocols and compliant under the government rules and regulations.

To add more to it, these apps are designed with user friendly approach where you can pull out monthly, quarterly and yearly transaction records. Not only that but also it has option to set recurring payments for monthly rent and utilities bills. Another advantage is it can automatically pay of credit card bills once generated which is a boon for fast moving population. This prevents defaults on card or EMI payments and helps in building a good credit score.

While this apps have eased the way of handling transactions at fingertips, it may be an alarming situation as it can be source of scams and online money theft for uneducated individuals who follows instructions given out by fraudsters.

In a nutshell, it is evident that advantages outweigh disadvantages of using payment apps as these are fast, secure and reliable to handle large or small transactions. These apps has the potential replace traditional ways of payments despite of the small demerits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The essay addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, particularly regarding convenience, security, and financial management. However, the development of the disadvantages is somewhat thin; the mention of scams is a valid point but could have been expanded with more depth or a specific example to better balance the argument. The position is consistent throughout, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main points. To reach a higher band, ensure that the counter-arguments are explored with the same level of detail as the supporting arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'Another important aspect', 'To add more to it', and 'In a nutshell' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as 'While this apps' (should be 'these apps'). Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the structure supports the reader's understanding of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'recurring payments', 'protocols', and 'credit score'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'fast moving population' (which is slightly unnatural) and 'pay of credit card bills' (should be 'pay off'). The range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but there is a lack of more sophisticated or idiomatic expressions that would characterize a higher band score. Focus on refining collocations to sound more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'it quick and reliable' (missing verb 'is'), 'an individual has to physically present' (should be 'be physically present'), and 'these apps has the potential' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices in the first body paragraph. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help improve this score.

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

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