Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-24

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)

Nowadays, technology is increasing day by day which leads people to use mobile phone apps for paying things. This trend has become common in many countries because it is easy to use these applications. This essay will discuss the pros and cons of this development. However, advantages of this development outweighs the disadvantages.

One of the main advantages of this development is that people do not need to carry cash with them. They can easily scan the QR code displays near the cash counter to pay for anything they buy. Moreover, people can pay their electricity and mobile phone bills through these apps by sitting at home without waiting in a long queue. Furthermore, people can easily send money to abroad to their relatives or friends with good conversation rate by using these mobile phones apps. For example, there is one app called "Remitly" who provides same coversation rate as google to send money in any countries. Therefore, this development plays an essential role to make transactions smooth and fast, and people do not need to wait in a long queues in banks.

However, this development has some disadvantages as well. One of the main disadvantages of this is that elder people are not aware of this technological developments. Therefore, they may find these apps complicated to use and can not put trust on it for their transactions. For instance, they may send their money to the wrong account which leads them to fraud. It gives them unncessary stress because it is a complex process to recover their money if they send it to the unknown person.

Overall, it is a good development to use mobile applications for making transcations becasue they are secure and time saving. However, it is not a suitable option for elder people who do not know how to use these applications.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and the response addresses both sides of the question. The benefits are relevant and supported with examples, including paying bills at home and sending money abroad. This shows the task is covered well, but the development is uneven: the advantages receive several examples, while the disadvantage is mainly limited to older users’ unfamiliarity and the risk of sending money to the wrong account. The Remitly example is also not fully explained, so its relevance to the comparison is less clear. To strengthen the response further, explain the scale or consequences of the risks and make the comparison between the benefits and drawbacks more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a concluding position. Ideas generally progress logically, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” “However,” and “Overall” help guide the reader. The advantages paragraph is especially easy to follow as it moves from avoiding cash to paying bills and transferring money. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and repeated use of “people” and “this development” makes connections less varied. The example about Remitly also interrupts the flow because its point is not clearly connected to the claim about exchange rates. Use more precise referencing and make each example’s purpose explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to discuss the topic, including relevant terms such as “QR code,” “transactions,” “complicated,” and “recover their money.” However, word choice, collocation, and spelling errors are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less precise. Examples include “good conversation rate” for an exchange rate, “same coversation rate as google,” and “send money to abroad.” There are also misspellings such as “unncessary,” “transcations,” and “becasue.” Repetition of “development,” “people,” and “apps” limits flexibility. Build a more accurate set of topic-specific phrases and check spelling carefully; this will make your ideas clearer and more natural without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “if,” and most errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument. Some grammatical problems remain, particularly with agreement and sentence construction. For example, “advantages … outweighs” should use a plural verb, while “the QR code displays near the cash counter” needs a passive form such as “displayed.” In “people can pay … by sitting at home,” the structure is awkwardly attached to the subject, and “they may send their money … which leads them to fraud” has an unclear clause relationship. Review subject–verb agreement, passive forms, and how subordinate clauses connect to the main sentence. More consistent control would make the varied structures more effective.

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