Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-17

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 recent years, paying for things using cell phone is becoming more common in some countries. This advancement has many advantages, though we cannot neglect the disadvantages.

First I will talk about the positive aspects. It is far more convenient to pay through cell phone instead of using card or pay through cash. Nobody wants to carry wallet, cash feels a bit of burden in pocket and when you have coins too, it will be a disaster. Personally, i mostly carry my cellphone only for instance last weekend i went to buy some medicine for my daughter and in hurry i forgot to carry my wallet after reaching pharmacy i got realize i dont have it, then my mind clicked idea of using cellphone to pay.

Secondly there are very few chances that you can forget your cell phone at home due to the fact that its the only thing that young generation can never forget about as it all the time stays in their hands.

Last but not the least there is more security of using digital money as it is safe from street theft.

With all these advantages, lets bring some negatives things in context. There is a chances of hacking and cyber theft. Moreover, if your cellphone's battery is dead, you can face some problems especially during an emergency situation.

Talking about good and bad aspects of digital payments. I would say its a very positive development and its use will be continuously increasing in future as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and make your position clear: despite mentioning hacking and battery failure, you conclude that mobile payments are a positive development. The personal example about forgetting your wallet at the pharmacy is relevant and helps explain convenience. This meets the task well, but the support is uneven: the security point (“safe from street theft”) and the disadvantages are stated briefly, without explaining how likely or serious they are. The claim that young people rarely forget their phones is also broad and would be stronger with qualification or evidence. To develop the response further, explain and compare the impact of the advantages and disadvantages, rather than mainly listing them, while maintaining your clear overall judgement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable progression: an introduction, several advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a concluding opinion. Sequencing phrases such as “First,” “Secondly,” and “Moreover” help readers follow the points, and the pharmacy anecdote is placed where it supports convenience. However, the organisation is somewhat mechanical, with repeated list-style transitions (“Last but not the least” and “Talking about good and bad aspects”). The final sentence begins a new summary rather than linking smoothly to the conclusion. Some connections within the anecdote are also difficult to follow because several events are run together. Use clearer paragraph breaks and more varied links that show cause, contrast, or consequence, and make references between sentences more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “digital money,” “hacking,” “cyber theft,” and “emergency situation.” The personal example also gives you a chance to use everyday language naturally. However, several word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise, such as “paying for things using cell phone,” “cash feels a bit of burden,” “a disaster,” and “bring some negatives things in context.” Repetition of “advantages,” “positive,” and “good and bad aspects” also limits flexibility. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your position, but they make parts of the response less natural. Build a more precise range for discussing convenience, security risks, and drawbacks, and check common word partnerships.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a reason clause (“due to the fact that…”) and a conditional structure (“if your cellphone's battery is dead…”). The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but errors occur across sentence boundaries, agreement, articles, and verb forms. For example, “paying … is becoming” is inconsistent with the general trend you describe, “There is a chances” has faulty agreement, and “i went … after reaching pharmacy i got realize” contains several structural errors. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, especially in the long anecdote. These issues sometimes make the reader work to interpret the sequence. Practise accurate sentence boundaries and basic clause patterns first, then use complex structures only when you can control their grammar.

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