Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-18

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 6.0)

Online transcations are becoming the main mode of payment globally. I believe, it has many benefits like convinience and fewer drawbacks.

One of the biggest advantage of mobile payments is the usage is easy for many consumers. Handling physical currency which includes notes and coins is tideous. There is high risk of mis-calculation. Online payments makes the process easy to use as a person can type down the amount and usually the app will confirm with you on the amount and then proceed to transfer the money.

Additionally, growing popularity of online shopping has result in people picking up digital transactions. Majority of countires are promoting e-commerce that enable small businesses to reach wider audience. Consumers have more options because many new websites and apps are emerging that allow the consumers to compare the products easily and purchase it on a single click. They do not require to commute to the shops. It saves fuel and time which is crucial in today's fast paced world. Due to these reasons, people have started using online payments over the conventional mode.

Despite these there are some security issues with the online mode of transactions. Many hackers use this opportunity to scam common people by using phising attacks. They track individual online activity of the consumers. It helps them to figure out personal passwords of the consumers which can used to gain money online. Banks and mobile apps are constantly working to resolve these and the government is make strict rules to regualte secured money transactions.

To conclude, mobile payments has been increasing its popularity due to various benefits but people should be aware if the online scams.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phone payment apps, presenting a clear position that the development has more benefits. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed. For instance, the discussion on convenience, e-commerce growth, and security concerns such as phishing attacks demonstrates a comprehensive overview of the topic. However, some arguments lack deeper extension; the point about avoiding physical currency is slightly repetitive and under-developed. Nevertheless, all parts of the task are addressed and supported with examples, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing that separates the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions between paragraphs, such as 'Additionally' and 'Despite these'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in phrases like 'Despite these there are some security issues' (missing a noun) and 'mobile payments has been increasing' (agreement issues affecting flow). Paragraph progression is logical, moving from convenience to e-commerce and finally security, which secures a solid Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'transcations', 'convinience', 'tideous', and 'phising'. However, there are frequent spelling errors ('transcations' instead of transactions, 'convinience', 'tideous', 'countires', 'regualte') and occasional word choice inaccuracies ('the usage is easy' instead of 'they are easy to use'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear throughout the text, allowing the reader to follow the arguments easily. This corresponds closely to the criteria for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative structures ('apps that allow the consumers to compare'). However, there are numerous grammatical errors throughout the response, including subject-verb agreement issues ('online payments makes', 'mobile payments has been increasing'), article misuse ('growing popularity', 'the online mode'), and preposition errors ('aware if the online scams'). While these errors are noticeable and detract from the overall accuracy, they rarely impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

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