Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-14

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)

People from many countries, purchasing things and pay using mobile apps like PayPal or Google Pay, which is safer to use, while it provides convenience, instead of carrying wallet every time. I believe this development has more advantages than drawbacks.

In the past people used to buy things using cash or coins, Sometime they lose their money because of carelessness or got steeled by someone, while travelling in a bus or train, which my cause frustration and some time if they lost a big amount of money that will ruin their life. for example, In 1998 a women in the UK travelled to another province while carrying money for her treatment. but while travelling in train she lost that money, and she couldn't able to do anything.

While, In this modern era, after the widespread of mobile phones and technology, people started using cellphones for everything, including purchasing and paying through online. moreover it provides safety because we don't have to carry money with us every time which reduces the chance of steeling or loosing, even someone took our phone, we have a chance to cancel the access of payment by calling the bank or logging in with another phone so no one can access and take our money. For instance, In Russia, a famous Entrepreneur lost his mobile phone, but after he realised that, he made a quick call and cancelled every access. which reduces the risk of money theft. Furthermore he created a same account in another phone with new password.

In conclusion, Purchasing through money would be the only option in the past, but now we have new technology to pay securely and conveniently, so I believe this development outweigh advantage over disadvantage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that mobile payments have more advantages. The ideas are relevant, focusing on security and convenience. However, the development is somewhat limited. The examples provided, such as the 1998 anecdote and the Russian entrepreneur, are specific but lack the depth required for a higher band. The argument remains somewhat repetitive, focusing heavily on the fear of theft rather than exploring other potential advantages or addressing the counter-argument (disadvantages) in a more balanced way. To improve, you should expand on the broader societal implications of this technology.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the use of 'While,' at the start of the third paragraph is grammatically incorrect in this context, and 'moreover' is used to connect ideas that are not always logically linked. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition between the historical perspective and the modern era feels abrupt. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words will help the flow of your writing significantly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several persistent errors in word choice, such as 'steeled' instead of 'stolen', 'loosing' instead of 'losing', and 'purchasing through money' instead of 'using cash'. These errors occasionally distract the reader. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'entrepreneur' and 'widespread', the overall range is limited. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring correct spelling of common words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('a women... travelled'), incorrect verb forms ('couldn't able to'), and awkward sentence construction ('which my cause frustration'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several sentence fragments and incorrect capitalization. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on mastering basic sentence construction before attempting more complex structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.