Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-26

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)

Digital money has already started ruling the world and some people say that people will soon stop using cash, because the payment mode will be completely converted to either through cards or using phones. I do agree with this statement, because as time progress, there is an exponential growth in technology. Also, people nowadays have no time to count bills and most of them think that it is a shame to still use money to buy things, while there are other who are still not ready to give using cash. In this essay, we will discuss a some more broader view what mentioned above.

First of all, time plays and a critical role in everyone's life and people nowadays are in a hurry on whatever they do or wherever they go. In order to tackle this problem, digital money was introduced by the banking industry. Although, it had very less users in its beginning phase, because it was unclear to common man and considered less safer compared to using cash. The banks kept on pushing and educating their customers to use card or phone tenders. As a result, an ample amount of people shifted from cash to card tenders.

Following that, phone tender was introduced and then there has been an increase in trend of people who completely rely on digital money for all their transactions, and due to this shift, the profit made by the banking sector is at its peak now. They started giving points to customers when they use cards, and they may redeem it on any later purchases. One such example is the Mastercard, which gives three percentage cashback of whatever they purchase from a point of sale.

However, there are some who still don't give up using cash. There love for cash transaction is due to its safety, as they believe technology steals money, which is true to some extent as well.

Overall, digital money will be used soon all over the world in near future as a full replacement to cash tenders because it is easy, time saving and gives good returns to people. Nonetheless, there will be still someone who wi

AI examiner evaluation

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 is uneven. The first part is well-supported with arguments about efficiency and banking incentives. The second part, regarding why people are reluctant to give up cash, is significantly under-developed, consisting of only one brief sentence mentioning safety concerns. To reach a higher band, you need to expand on these counter-arguments with more depth and specific examples. The conclusion is also incomplete, cutting off mid-sentence, which affects the overall task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'First of all,' 'Following that,' and 'However,' to link your points. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'a some more broader view what mentioned above.' The abrupt ending of the essay negatively impacts the overall flow and coherence, as the final thought remains unfinished. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring a complete, well-structured conclusion would enhance the score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'exponential growth,' 'banking industry,' and 'transactions.' There are some instances of awkward phrasing or incorrect word choices, such as 'phone tender' (which is not standard terminology) and 'there are other who are still not ready.' Additionally, there are minor errors in collocation, such as 'three percentage cashback' instead of 'three percent cashback.' While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the use of vocabulary from being considered 'flexible' or 'precise' at a higher level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with articles ('the common man'), subject-verb agreement ('there are other who'), and preposition usage. Some sentences are clunky, such as 'there is an increase in trend of people who completely rely.' Punctuation is generally functional, but the incomplete final sentence is a significant error in terms of grammatical structure and task completion. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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