Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-15

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 this technical era, it is increasingly popular to have cashless transaction through mobile phones. I personally believe that the benefits of this trend outweigh its drawbacks which will be discussed in upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand, why people choose to do online payments has a numerous advantages. The primary benefit is the convenience and speed, as Apple pay , Google pay and banking apps made it so fast and stress free for customers to make payments within seconds regardless of the distance. Another predominant reason to support my opinion is the better financial records. By comparing past records, people can manage and budget their funds. Not only this, It is much more safer to carry cards than cash which reduce their stress of losing their money. For example, The report of Oxford University showed that the figure of cash stolen cases has reduced by 20%, from 2016 to 2024. while considering these impacts, this trend brings positive development.

On the other hand, despite these advantages, Its downside can't be ignored. Firstly, paying for things using mobile phone has some privacy and security risks as the data can be stolen through scams and hacking techniques which leads to big frauds. Moreover, It is extremely difficult for older people as they are unfamiliar with technology because, some shops only have digital payment methods available. Besides this, People are solely dependent on the technology when they travel with the cards, for instance, If customers are in the remote area where there is no internet connection and their phones battery dies. So, These are some negative effects of this phenomenon.

To conclude, although digital payments carries some drawbacks, I still opine that It has more positives than negatives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as convenience, financial tracking, and security risks. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the benefits are supported with a specific example regarding theft reduction, the drawbacks section is slightly less developed, particularly the point about older people and technology. To reach a higher band, ensure that every point is fully extended with a clear explanation or a concrete example to demonstrate the depth of your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Another predominant reason', and 'To conclude' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing and punctuation. For instance, the phrase 'while considering these impacts' at the end of the second paragraph is slightly disconnected from the preceding sentence. Improving the flow between sentences and using a wider variety of cohesive markers would enhance the overall structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'cashless transaction', 'predominant', and 'phenomenon'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'It is much more safer' (should be 'much safer') and 'big frauds' (a more natural collocation would be 'significant financial fraud'). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is good, but ensure that these terms are used with precision to avoid slight inaccuracies that occasionally affect the naturalness of the expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include capitalization errors ('It is much more safer', 'The report of Oxford University'), subject-verb agreement issues ('digital payments carries'), and missing articles. While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with verb forms and article usage, and try to incorporate more varied complex sentence structures with greater precision.

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