Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-22

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 todays fast paced era, technology plays a crucial role in everyones life. Therefore, in several nations people are using their smart phones applications such as apple pay for their purchases instead of doing payments with traditional methods. This essay will discuss both pros and cons of this trend in upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand, there are numerous factors that encouraging people to use their cellphones for their financial transactions as it is more convenient rather than taking cash. This is because, Individuals can easily purchase goods from any corner of the world by transfering digital money which saves their time as well. Apart from this, it also provides a history of all the transaction bills that people can save in their emails in case they want to return or exchange their items. In addition to this, applications like paypal, remitly or apple wallet are very useful in emergencies when people do not have cash or physical cards to pay their bills.

On the other hand side, there are also some demerits of this growing popularity as it is not suitable for older people. This is because, they are not so familiar with advanced technology which sometimes creates difficulties for them. As a result, this is highly risky for older generation as they can easily get scammed while doing online transactions. For Example, scammers can send fake messages or payment links and people who are unable to recognise these threats may click those links and loose their money.

To Conclude, there is no doubt that, cyber crime is becoming a main issue for the society esspecially for older community while doing their digital transactions. However, paying for things by using mobile phone applications are more convenient and easy to acces as people can use it anywhere and anytime. Thus, advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of using mobile phone apps for payments, and presents a clear position throughout, concluding that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are generally extended and supported, such as examining convenience, emergency utility, and risks to older generations like scams. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise or lack deeper specific development, which places the response firmly within Band 7. For example, the discussion on older people getting scammed is relevant, but could have been elaborated with more detailed impacts. Overall, the prompt requirements are fully met with a clear, supported viewpoint.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. It follows a traditional four-paragraph structure with a clear introduction, separate body paragraphs for pros and cons, and a concluding paragraph. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand side', and 'To Conclude'. However, some minor mechanical errors in referencing and cohesion occur, such as 'paying for things by using mobile phone applications are more convenient' where subject-verb agreement affects smooth referencing, and 'On the other hand side' is slightly unnatural phrasing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, ensuring the overall progression remains clear and easy to follow for the reader, aligning well with the Band 6.5 or 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'financial transactions', 'cyber crime', and 'digital money'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'everyones', 'smart phones', 'transfering', 'esspecially', and 'acces' (access). Additionally, phrases like 'doing payments' and 'taking cash' are less natural than standard collocations like 'making payments' or 'using cash'. While these lexical errors do not impede communication, their frequency prevents the essay from reaching higher bands. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their ideas with reasonable precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing dependent clauses and relative structures like 'people who are unable to recognise these threats'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly missing apostrophes ('todays', 'everyones', 'advantages of this trend outweigh'), spelling issues, and minor agreement errors such as 'applications... are... are more convenient... as people can use it' (pronoun mismatch between plural 'applications/people' and singular 'it'). While complex structures are attempted, they are not always entirely accurate. Nevertheless, the meaning remains clear throughout, and the errors rarely impede communication, reflecting the characteristics of Band 6.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.