Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-10
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)
In this contemorary era, the trend of using paying apps via cell phone is proliferation day by day. This approach has both merits as well as demerits. This essay attends to analyze wheter the benefits outweigh the sideeffects.
On the one hand, there are numerous benefits of using online payments methods.First and foremost,Paying apps such as google pay, paypal, apple pay eliminate the need of carrying cash and plastic cards. Beacuse people can easily access these apps on mobile phones due to sophisticated technology make it convience to acess these apps anywhere.Moreover, sometimes there is requirement of using online payments methods particularly when we prefer online services. For instance, some shopping apps like Amazon does not give any option to with cash as it only accepts digital payments. Therefore in that case people left with no option.
On the other hand, Althogh having benefits of this trend, however this comes with considerable challenges which we should keep in mind. The most important one is security risks beacuse online apps are vulnerability to cyberaatackd, identity theft and digitial scams. When customers use digital methods to make payments, hackers attack on personal information and do fradulant activities on accounts, so one should use these apps meticulously. Apart from that, this service is also provide limited access because this associated with internert. If someone does not have access to internet then he/she can not use these apps.
In conlusion,I believe that even though digital payment methods are very convient to use without carrying any cash, however we should do some precautions while using this to protect from fraud activities. Therfore, having more advantages of this trend usually compress the side effects.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: mobile payments are useful, but users should take precautions. The examples of avoiding cash and cards, and Amazon requiring digital payment, support the convenience argument; security risks and lack of internet access provide relevant disadvantages. However, the discussion is not fully balanced or developed. The Amazon example mainly shows that digital payment can be necessary for online shopping, rather than explaining why the overall advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The conclusion states that advantages predominate, but the reasons for this judgement could be made more explicit. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or a specific example, and directly compare the importance of the benefits and drawbacks.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression from convenience to security and internet access is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “Moreover,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, linking is sometimes mechanical or awkward: “On the other hand, Although … however” uses competing contrast markers, while “Therefore in that case” repeats the same relationship. Some references, such as “this” in the conclusion, are not fully precise. Use fewer, more natural transitions and make links between claims and examples explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “digital payments,” “security risks,” “identity theft,” and “online services,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “considerable challenges.” However, the range and control are limited by repeated or inaccurate expressions, including “using paying apps,” “online payments methods,” and “do some precautions.” Several spelling errors—such as “contemorary,” “wheter,” “convient,” and “fradulant”—are noticeable and can make reading less smooth. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, use “mobile payment apps,” “online payment methods,” and “take precautions”; vary repeated references to “apps” with “services” or “payment platforms.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “If someone does not have access to internet then he/she can not use these apps” and a reason-and-result sentence about hackers. The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but control is inconsistent, and several sentence patterns are faulty. For example, “due to sophisticated technology make it convenience” lacks a clear grammatical subject and has an incorrect verb pattern; “this service is also provide limited access” has an incorrect verb form; and “some shopping apps like Amazon does not give” has subject–verb disagreement. Punctuation and spacing around sentence openings and commas also need attention. Practise building accurate clauses first, then combine them, checking agreement, articles, and verb forms.
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