Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Recently, paying for things digitally using a mobile phone is becoming more common in many countries. I believe it has more advantages because it gives the convenience of paying via phone rather than paying in person. we will discuss both advantages and disadvantages before giving reasons for my arguments in the below paragraphs.

First, there are numerous advantages of paying for the services via phone. It provided the benefit of paying at a click also from the advantage of making payment from anywhere around the globe. Further, it saves energy, time and cost of travelling. For Example, a person residing in one country is no more requires to visit another country for purchasing the goods that are goods that are only available there, Instead it can be access from their home digitally.

However, there are some drawbacks of paying through phone. First, people may end up purchasing more goods than required. For Instance, when you have the convenience to pay from your phone you can shop for goods across the world and end by over purchasing. Moreover, this will not only affect your spending habit but also making you wanting to have more. Second, this trend has made people less social as they no longer visit the place physically rather sit at their home and access things at their convenience.

To conclude, the advantages are far more than the disadvantages and hence I believe that it is a positive trend which gives the convenience and save time and cost.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, and a clear position is maintained throughout. However, the essay falls slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. While the arguments regarding convenience and over-spending are relevant, they are somewhat thin and could have been expanded with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion is brief and merely restates the introduction rather than synthesising the main points effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First', 'However', and 'Moreover', though some transitions feel mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the referencing is occasionally awkward, such as the phrase 'the below paragraphs'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages and disadvantages, which helps the reader follow the argument, but the overall flow could be improved with more sophisticated linking phrases.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'convenience' and 'paying'. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'end by over purchasing' and 'making you wanting to have more'. While the meaning is generally clear, the student relies on a limited set of functional words and does not demonstrate the ability to use less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions effectively to convey nuanced ideas.

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 distract the reader. Examples include 'It provided the benefit' (tense inconsistency), 'a person... is no more requires' (incorrect verb form), and 'Instead it can be access' (passive voice error). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels clunky. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band.

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