Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-29

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 7.0)

The digital age is approaching faster that most had hoped, I believe in next one or two decades all payment will be made my card or using mobile wallets. However, may could not let go of cash due to different reasons such as scentimental values and loose of privacy

On one hand, digital payments will make payment transactions easier because they do not have to keep bulky cash and count it everytime thiy want to purchase something. Further more, when going to another country it becomes hard to know difference between all the currency amounts, because many countries uses with fractions instead of whole number currency. To elaborate even further, when I moved to canada it was difficult to know the difference between 25 cent and 50 cent coin, it also made the calculation harder for me as in India we are used to having no fractions and just having whole number coins and money notes.

On the other hand, going digial will make having privacy harder cause all the transations will be loged in a database for authentication and security. These logs could be requested by law enforcements and hacked into by criminals, leading to personal information leacking to third party without a person's concent. The payment processors could decline to work with certain businesses. For example, two of the most used payment processors who are used by 95 percent of the world, decline to work with video games market play called Steam because they allowed adult games to be sold on their platform.

In conclusion, although there are some problems right now with digital payment, it is far superior to cash. I believed that these problems will be resolved within next 10 to 15 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear opinion on the future of cash and explaining reasons for resistance to digital payments. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the discussion on privacy and the convenience of digital transactions. However, the development is slightly uneven; the example regarding Steam is a bit specific and could have been more clearly linked to the broader argument about payment processors. Overall, the position is consistent throughout the essay, and the response effectively covers the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main arguments. Cohesive devices such as 'On one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'To elaborate even further' are used to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the slightly abrupt transition in the first paragraph. The progression of ideas is generally clear, and the use of linking words is sufficient to maintain coherence throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'authentication', 'sentiment', and 'payment processors'. However, there are several spelling errors ('scentimental', 'leacking', 'concent', 'digial', 'transations', 'loged') and minor word choice inaccuracies ('video games market play' instead of 'platform'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on accuracy in spelling and more precise collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('many countries uses', 'two of the most used payment processors who are used') and tense inconsistencies ('I believed that these problems will be resolved'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage in complex sentences. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. Increasing the number of error-free sentences and refining complex structures would improve the score significantly.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.