Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-30

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)

Online payment for goods using smartphone is on the increase in many nations across the world today. This essay will discuss the timeliness and comfort that this brings, while acknowledging its demerits.

On the one hand, cyber insecurity and theft has greatly invaded our technological system causing mobile transfers to be easily diverted, and individual accounts hacked without traces. The rate of cyber crime is on the increase daily and use of mobile pphones for transfers has greatly aided this. For example, School children in many countries have been reported to be involved in cyber theft, riping foreigners and their country men and women off their hand earned money through their mobile phones.

On the other hand, payment with mobile phone promotes timely and comfortable payments. With this trend, people no longer have to queue up in bank to make payments, but can now initiate payments in seconds with their mobile devices.

Furthermore, the burden of carrying huge sums of money around, exposing people to theft and in many cases lose of life from armed persons who would forcely take away the cash from them have been bridged. For examples it has been reported severely of armed robbers getting intels of people carrying huge sum of money and attacking them afterwards. Many have reportedly lost their lives to this event.

Mobile payment is a good trend in our society today as it enhances effortless and

timely payments with little or no glitches.

In conclusion, the increase in mobile payments across nations of the world is of great benefit as it ensures timely payment for goods and bridges the burden of carrying cash around ensuring transactions are done with ease and comfort.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of mobile payment applications. A clear position is established early in the introduction and maintained throughout the essay. The disadvantages are highlighted in the second paragraph, focusing on cyber insecurity and theft, while the advantages are explored in the third paragraph, touching upon convenience, time-saving, and avoiding physical cash risks. However, some ideas lack deep extension and rely on somewhat simplistic examples, such as the mention of school children in cyber theft or general statements about armed robbers. Overall, the content is relevant, meets the task requirements adequately, and presents a balanced viewpoint, which corresponds well to Band 6.5 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs featuring distinct opposing views, and a concluding summary. The progression of ideas is generally logical, making use of transition markers such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments. However, referencing and cohesive devices occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, as seen in the phrase 'For example' followed soon after by 'For examples it has been reported severely'. Despite these minor flaws, the organization facilitates easy reading, earning a solid Band 6.5 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'cyber insecurity', 'intels', and 'glitches'. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'riping foreigners' instead of 'ripping', 'hand earned money' instead of 'hard-earned money', and 'reported severely' instead of 'frequently reported'. Spelling and morphological issues occasionally surface, yet these errors do not impede overall communication. The lexical control aligns closely with the Band 6 descriptor criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the response. Sentences such as 'With this trend, people no longer have to queue up in bank to make payments' demonstrate attempts at complex structures. However, grammatical errors are frequent, including missing pluralization ('queue up in bank'), incorrect prepositions, and awkward phrasing such as 'have been bridged' when referring to the burden of carrying cash. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but structural slips prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. The grammar is characteristic of a Band 6 performance.

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