Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-11

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)

Improvement in digital payment technology is increasing day by day. As a result, many individuals use their mobile phone for paying and cashing out rather than carrying cash or cards with themselves. I believe that this development has more advantages than its disadvantages, which have been discussed in the following paragraphs.

On positive side, the first and foremost advantage for paying through mobile apps is convenience options for individuals. To explain, everyone has their personal mobile device with themselves and everyone has internet connections as well. Because of improvement in technology, mostly every bank provides their personal applications, where people can do their financial work rather then going to the bank. Also, this kinds of app has details of credit and debit cards of person. As a result, they can pay by tapping their smartphone at debit or credit machine. Also, they can check in meantime whether payment is deducted or not. Hence, this is more convenience way to pay rather than cash or cards.

Moreover, security is another major features of online payments. To illustrates, every bank application require users biometric or unique password to get open of their user account. Also, if somebody's mobile lost and wrong people find them, they cannot use the money or bank apps in mobile as it required users' biometric or unique password. Therefore, this is a secure option.

On the negative side, there are certain places where cash only requires, where this apps are not at all useful. For example, if you are going at any hill-stations or for tracking in forests or mountains, where access to internet is very low. Also, business developed over there are often small which only accept cash, so this method is not useful at such places.

In conclusion, although using mobile apps for payments has few drawbacks as certain place required only cash, its advantages way more than disadvantages in terms of security and convenience.

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 regarding convenience and security are relevant and supported with examples. However, the development of the disadvantages is somewhat limited; while the point about internet access and cash-only businesses is valid, it could have been expanded further to reach a higher band. The position is consistent throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main argument. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph provides a more in-depth exploration of the implications of the points raised.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'On the positive side', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or repetitive, and there are minor issues with referencing (e.g., 'this kinds of app'). The flow of ideas is generally smooth, but the connection between sentences could be more sophisticated to achieve a higher score. Overall, the structure is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'financial work', 'biometric', and 'digital payment technology'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'cashing out' (which usually refers to withdrawing money, not paying), 'get open of their user account', and 'this method is not useful at such places'. While these errors do not impede communication, they limit the score. Expanding the range of vocabulary and focusing on natural collocations would improve the lexical profile.

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 grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' missing before 'internet'), subject-verb agreement ('this kinds of app'), and prepositional usage ('going at any hill-stations'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and word-form errors, such as 'To illustrates' instead of 'To illustrate'. The majority of sentences contain minor errors, which prevents the essay from reaching the 7.0 band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining complex sentence structures would be beneficial.

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