Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-13

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)

In today's evolving world, technology has changed the way people carry out their daily activities. In many nations, an increasing number of people use their mobile phone application to pay for products and services instead of using cards and cash. Although there are some risks involved with mobile payments, I strongly believe that this develoment has more advantages than disadvantages.

Out of all the arguments, one of the prominent benefits of mobile payments is convenience. That is to say, people can make paymenst in few seconds without carrying cash or a wallet. Moreover, mobile payment applications are available almost everywhere, including supermarkets, restaurants and online stores. For instance, a person can simply tap their pone on a payment machine and complete the transaction immediately without giving cards or cash. In addition, these application often keep a record of transactions, which makes it easier for individuals to monitor their finances.

Furthemore, another significant advantagesis that mobile payment can save time. Many people can complete transaction quickly, customes do not need to spend much time waiting in long queues. This is praticularly helpful in grocery stores and coffee shops. A result, the overall shopping experience can become faster and more efficient.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages of using mobile application for payment. The main concern is security and privacy. If someone's phone is stolen or hacked, the financial information could be accessed by criminals. Besides that, people may face difficulties making payments when their phone battery dies or when there is a techincal problem. However, modern smartphones provide security features such as passwords, face recongnition and fingerprint identification, which can significantly reduce these risks.

In conclusion, although mobile payments may create security and technical problems. I strongly, believe that their advantages outweigh disadvantages because mobile payment application provide fast, convenient and efficient way to make payments.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student presents a clear position throughout the essay and addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mobile payment applications while giving a clear conclusion. The ideas are generally well developed, particularly in terms of convenience, time-saving benefits, and security concerns. For example, the writer illustrates the speed of transactions by mentioning tapping a phone on a payment machine. However, some arguments could be extended further with deeper real-world examples, and there are minor developmental gaps such as the slightly abrupt transition in paragraph three. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of the task well, earning a band score of 7.0 under the descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organization with an introduction, well-defined body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Out of all the arguments', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, moving from convenience to time-saving, and finally to disadvantages and counter-arguments. However, there are some minor mechanical or slightly awkward cohesive links, such as 'A result, the overall shopping experience' instead of 'As a result', and some referencing issues. Despite these minor flaws, the progression of ideas is easy to follow throughout, matching the requirements for a band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing topic-specific terms like 'financial information', 'transaction', 'fingerprint identification', and 'supermarkets'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though this is occasionally accompanied by minor inaccuracies or spelling slips, such as 'develoment' instead of 'development', 'paymenst' instead of 'payments', 'praticularly' instead of 'particularly', and 'recongnition' instead of 'recognition'. Despite these spelling and word-choice errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to allow clear communication of ideas, placing the response solidly at a band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or concessive clauses such as 'Although there are some risks involved with mobile payments, I strongly believe that...' and 'If someone's phone is stolen or hacked...'. There are several grammatical errors and typos present, such as 'use their mobile phone application' (plural needed), 'these application often keep' (subject-verb agreement), and a punctuation fragment in the conclusion ('I strongly, believe that their advantages outweigh disadvantages because...'). Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede communication, and the sentence structures show sufficient flexibility to merit a band 6.0.

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