Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-20

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)

In recent years, making payments by using mobile phone is promptly increasing day by day. Although this development has certain drawbacks, it also offers several significant benefits. In my opinion, the advantages of using phone for making payments outweigh the disadvantages, which we will further discuss in upcoming paragraphs.

One of the main advantage is that it is the easiest and convenient method. People do not have need to carry cash to pay their bill and payments. For instance, to pay restaurant bills, grocery bills and other utilities bills. Moreover, we can pay online, sitting at home, within few seconds, which also save time and transportation money.

Additionally, other significant advantage is that individual can manage their money expenses accordingly, with that, their spending not get out of the budget and sometimes, most application keep track of transactions, which help to avoid the extra charges of late transactions. Anyhow, these applications provide the security features such as passwords, fingerprint and facial recognition, which also help to avoid spams. Also, give the benefits like cash back, gift vouchers and gifts by using online apps for payments.

In conclusion, although mobile payments may cause disadvantages , but it offers the substantial benefits, particularly in today's fast paced era. Therefore, I believe that the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of mobile payments, maintaining a clear position throughout. However, the essay fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 216 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas, as the arguments remain somewhat superficial. While the main points are relevant, they lack the depth and detailed supporting examples required for a higher band score. To improve, you must expand your analysis with more specific real-world examples and ensure your response meets the length requirement to allow for full development of your arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction and conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Additionally', and 'In conclusion' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel repetitive or forced. For instance, the transition 'with that, their spending not get out of the budget' is awkward and hinders the logical progression of the sentence. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that the relationships between sentences are more natural and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'easiest', 'convenient', and 'benefits'. There are also some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'avoid spams' (usually 'avoid spam' or 'protect against phishing/fraud') and 'transportation money' (which should be 'travel costs' or 'commuting expenses'). To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to finance and technology, and pay closer attention to natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'People do not have need to carry cash' (should be 'People do not need to carry cash'), 'within few seconds' (should be 'within a few seconds'), and 'most application keep track' (should be 'most applications keep track'). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and practice constructing more complex, error-free sentences.

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

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