Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-12
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In the future, people may no longer be able to pay for things in shops using cash. All payments may have to be made by card or using phones. Do you think this will happen one day? Why do you think some people might not be happy to give up using cash?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
There are two schools of thought on, whether, in the future, cards will take place of using cash or not. Hence, I believe cards will bring numerous benefits for people and environment. I fully agree with cards will drawbacks the importance of cash in future.
First and foremost, if people will start depend on using cards, it will ensure safety for them. Because, carrying cash are becoming dangerous in day by day. Specially, for the businessman who need to carry cash all the time robbed by the robberer. Sometimes, it became a life threatening issue.
Furthermore, for producing cash, people need to cut generous amount of trees which are not safe for environment. CO2 level will be increased because of lessening the amount of trees. Brcause of that using cards are safe.
Moreover, in advanced countries such as London, India, China people are so much depend on cards cause it is easy to carry and safe. They can pay at any times in anywhere.
Though, there are also some people specially older people are not happy to use cards because they are not used to with technology. That's why they find difficulities in using cards.
In view of the aforementioned facts and circumstances, it can be concluded that using cards will be safe for environment and people. Government should encourage people to using cards instead of cash. They can create some centres where old citizens and others people who are not well-known wth technology can learn about using cards easily. In this way, we can save trees as well as can ensure our life safe.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address both parts of the prompt: you predict that card payments will become more common and explain why older people may resist them, noting that they are “not used to” technology. Your position in favour of cards is clear, and the points about personal safety and the environment are relevant. However, the prediction that cash may disappear entirely is not directly established; most of the response explains why cards are beneficial rather than why cash payments may eventually end. The environmental point also needs more careful support, and the discussion of older people is brief. To develop the response further, explain what could drive shops and governments to stop accepting cash, and give a specific example of a difficulty cashless systems create for some people.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for supporting reasons, a concession about older people, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “First and foremost,” “Furthermore,” and “Though” help signal the direction of the argument. However, some links are mechanical or do not express the relationship clearly. For example, “Hence” does not clearly follow from the opening, and “Because” begins a fragment after the safety claim. The paragraph about older people is not fully connected to the conclusion, which returns mainly to the benefits of cards. Improve progression by making each paragraph’s main point explicit and linking the concern about cashless payments to your final recommendation.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “carrying cash,” “life threatening,” “environment,” and “technology,” so the reader can follow the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts of the response difficult to interpret. “Cards will take place of using cash” and “drawbacks the importance of cash” do not express the intended meaning naturally; “robberer” and “difficulities” also show spelling or word-form problems. Repetition of “safe” and “using cards” limits precision. Build a more accurate set of phrases for discussing payment systems, such as “replace cash,” “cashless transactions,” and “financial security,” and check spelling and collocations when revising.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and complex forms, including conditional clauses (“if people will start depend on using cards”) and a concession (“Though, there are also some people…”). These attempts show some range, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “carrying cash are becoming” should use a singular verb, while “people are so much depend” needs a different verb structure. “Because, carrying cash…” is a sentence fragment, and the opening sentence’s punctuation interrupts the clause unnecessarily. These errors sometimes make the intended meaning less clear. Practise forming conditionals and checking subject–verb agreement, and combine dependent clauses with a complete main clause.
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