Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-24
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 6.5)
In the modern world of technology and internet, people tend to use things which are easy to handle and operate. Cash being one of the most popular mode of transaction amongst people for centuries, is losing its customer base. Nowadays people want less bulky and easy to use way of transaction, which emerges as cards and digital banking. With these people don't have to carry bills and change with them, instead one tap of these can make the whole process of buying and selling convenient. With all these pros and little to no cons, cards tend to be popular amongst folks and is making them switch from physical money to digital cash in their banks.
With all these changes coming to markets, I think this will certainly happen one day sooner or later. As we all know about indefinite benefits of digital banking including being fast, helps us track our funds, secure transactions, not handling bills, and many more. There is no sector in which cash overpowers digital banking and this makes it certain that there will come an era of only e banking.
With all these benefits there are still some hindrances in the way of digital banking being only mode of transactions. There are still many people out there who feel safer with cash in their hands and want to keep using that as their mode of money. no amount of benefits can make the people change their minds because of their orthodox way of thinking and may end up being protesting against e banking.
In conclusion we need to give some time to people around the world to get used to e banking and there might come time where it overtakes cash completely.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the likelihood of a cashless future and the reasons for resistance. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the reasons why people might not be happy to give up cash are limited to 'orthodox way of thinking' and a general feeling of safety. To achieve a higher band, you should provide more concrete examples, such as privacy concerns, the digital divide for elderly populations, or the risk of technical failures. The position is clear, but the arguments lack the depth and supporting evidence required for a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'In conclusion' and 'With all these benefits'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. For example, the transition from the benefits of digital banking to the hindrances could be more effectively linked using contrastive connectors. Additionally, some referencing is slightly repetitive, which makes the writing feel a bit simplistic at times.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'transaction', 'digital banking', and 'hindrances'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'digital cash in their banks' (which is slightly redundant) and 'protesting against e banking' (which is grammatically awkward). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and variety needed for a higher band. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and avoid repeating basic phrases like 'easy to use' or 'all these'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' is often missing) and subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Cash being one of the most popular mode... is losing'). There are also punctuation issues, such as the missing comma after introductory phrases and the lack of capitalization for 'e banking'. These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy.
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