Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

In the various parts of the world, mostly people prefer to use online payment option via mobile applications and it is more popular now. This development has both advantages and disadvantages, which will be discussed in this essay.

On the one hand, there are many pros of this trend. To begin with, the process of payment is the faster and time saving by phones. To illustrate, nowadays customer choose online shopping platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart where they can pay bills in a one minute. Furthermore, the customer do not need to travel at the bank for simple transaction from one account to another. It is convenient way to do money transfer.

On the other hand, the main con of this trend is that customer face difficulties in rural and countryside area because of the network problems. The online payment require better network coverage which is hard to get on the place like mountains or dessert. The another reason is the elder people find problems as they do not understand new technology as young people. As a result, they more likely use cash instead of mobile phone application for their payments.

In conclusion, although there are a number of benefits of using online payment method like safe and faster way and also saving your time, there is also drawback of this development such as It is hard to use in rural area due to network issue and older people face difficulties while using this new technology development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of mobile payment apps, fulfilling the core requirements of the prompt. However, the response is slightly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat brief. For instance, the point about elderly users is a good observation but lacks a more detailed explanation of how this digital divide impacts society. To achieve a higher band, you should expand on your examples and ensure your position is more clearly articulated throughout the essay, rather than just stating that both sides will be discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'To begin with', and 'In conclusion' to signal transitions. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and some linking words are used incorrectly, such as 'The another reason is'. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas could be more sophisticated. Improving the variety of your cohesive devices and ensuring they are used naturally would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your ideas clearly. You use topic-specific terms like 'online payment', 'transaction', and 'network coverage'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'mostly people' instead of 'most people' and 'at the bank' instead of 'to the bank'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common vocabulary related to the topic of technology and finance, while ensuring you avoid repetitive word choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the process of payment is the faster' (should be 'faster'), 'customer do not need' (should be 'customers do not need'), and 'on the place like mountains' (should be 'in places like mountains'). These errors are noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately.

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