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 today's fast paced era, technology plays a crucial role in everyone's 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 the pros and cons of this trend in the upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand side, there are numerous factors that encourage people to use their cellphones for their financial transactions as it is more convenient rather than using 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 familia r 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, the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mobile payment applications. A clear position is presented in the final paragraph where the writer concludes that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are generally well-developed and supported with relevant explanations and examples, such as the mention of Apple Pay, PayPal, and how scammers might target older generations. However, the development tends to be somewhat repetitive in places, particularly in the conclusion where points from the body paragraphs are largely restated without adding fresh extension. Overall, the requirements of Task Achievement are met at a Band 6.5 to 7 level, as all prompt components are covered adequately with a clear stance maintained throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, beginning with an introduction, moving to advantages, then disadvantages, and concluding with a summary and final stance. The writer makes good use of standard cohesive devices and transition signals, such as 'On the one hand side', 'Apart from this', and 'In addition to this'. However, some transitional phrases are awkward or non-standard, such as 'On the one hand side' instead of 'On the one hand', and paragraphing is slightly formulaic. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall progression guides the reader smoothly from the introduction to the conclusion, warranting a solid Band 6.5 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task and attempts less common lexical items related to technology and finance, such as 'financial transactions', 'digital money', and 'cyber crime'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'familia r' (familiar), 'transfering' (transferring), 'loose' (lose), 'esspecially' (especially), and 'acces' (access). While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they prevent the essay from achieving a higher band. Collocations are generally acceptable, but precision in spelling and vocabulary control needs to be refined for higher proficiency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures successfully in sentences like 'This is because, individuals can easily purchase goods from any corner of the world by transfering digital money which saves their time as well.' There are, however, several grammatical and punctuation errors present, such as unnecessary commas ('To Conclude, there is no doubt that, cyber crime...'), missing articles, and occasional minor agreement issues. Complex structures are attempted with varying degrees of success, and although errors occur, they rarely impede communication. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 6 descriptor.

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