Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-21

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)

Nowadays everyone has mobile phone, even younger children aged fifteen to twenty years own the cellphones. With the increase demand of having mobile phones, companies introducing mobile applications either related to editing or social media. Furthermore, most of the applications required subscription. In this essay I will examine the viewpoint whether paying for such applications has more advantages or disadvantages.

First I will talk about the advantages. In recent time large number of applications have been introduced and most of them related to social media, where you can connect with your family and friends and connect to new people also. Most of the applications give 7 days free trial after that you have to buy subscription. But the question is here, is the subscription worth buying? In some cases Yes, because with the easy access to mobile to young children it is beneficial for them that they cannot use all the applications they want. Moreover, in most of the cases parents do not know what their children are up to. They can be involved in any criminal activities or something that is not suitable for their innocent minds. Many social platforms are there that have adult content so in such scenario it is good that there is a subscription for such applications.

As far as the disadvantages is concern, paying for every application in not a good idea. Company when introduce the app give free access to all the features of the app, but as soon as they gain the costumer they stop giving the free access and by doing this most of the time they lose the costumers. Moreover, when for every app a person needs to pay eventually he or she then stick to only one or two apps which he finds suitable for himself instead of paying for every app.

In conclusion, while both viewpoints present persuasive arguments. I agreed with the point that not all app should need subscription. There must be something that everyone can use free. Increasing demand of subscription will make the company lose its costumer.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of paid mobile applications. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The argument regarding 'parental control' as an advantage of paid subscriptions is a bit tangential to the core issue of mobile payment trends. Furthermore, the essay lacks a clear, consistent position; while you state you agree that not all apps should require subscriptions, the body paragraphs do not fully explore the broader economic or social implications of mobile payments. To improve, ensure each point directly supports your central argument and provides more depth rather than just listing observations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear. For instance, the transition between the discussion of social media and parental control feels abrupt. Additionally, some sentences are repetitive in structure, which hinders the overall progression of ideas. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'subscription', 'features', and 'criminal activities'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'increase demand' (should be 'increasing demand'), 'gain the costumer' (should be 'gain customers'), and 'in such scenario' (should be 'in such a scenario'). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and lacks the precision required for higher bands. Expanding your use of topic-specific collocations and synonyms would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' cellphones), subject-verb agreement ('most of the applications required'), and pluralization ('costumer' instead of 'customers'). Some sentences are also slightly fragmented or run-on, which affects the overall fluency. To reach a higher band, you should focus on reducing these recurring errors and increasing the variety of complex sentence structures, such as using more conditional or relative clauses, while ensuring they are punctuated correctly.

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

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