Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-06

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)

World is growing at a very fast space and new technologies are being developed on daily basis. One of the technology which have been around us is revolutionizing which is the method of payment. Humans have started using phones or cards for payments rather than using cash. Some people argue that one day people are going to stop using bills and will completely rely on phones or cards for payments. I will discuss my thoughts on this below and will give reason for why some people might not be happy about this revolution.

To start with, humans have started using mobiles and cards for shopping and paying for their daily needs because it is very convenient and easy to use. People can pay by just tapping there cards or devices onto the machine. It saves them hassle of carrying lots of cash along with no need for a wallet to carrying those cash. Moreover, I also helps in keeping a track of your expenses as you can directly connect your bank account to some apps which can keep a track for your expenses. Furthermore, government of the countries are also promoting the use of digital payment methods as it can help them mitigate corruption at government offices along with circulation of fake currency bills.

On the other hand, some people might not be happy about this as there are so many elder people who are not use to this new technology and might struggle while shopping for their daily needs. Additionally, there are also many small businesses who prefer cash as payment method as they are already working at a very low margin and payment institution charges some percentage of every transaction made through their server which will eventually lower down the profit of the local small businesses.

To conclude, there are many advantages of using cards or phones and humans are going to rely completely on this technology in future but some people would not like it because of the above given reasons.

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. The position is clear throughout. The ideas are relevant, such as the convenience of digital payments and the concerns of the elderly and small business owners. However, the development is somewhat limited; for instance, the point about government corruption is mentioned but not fully explained in relation to the transition. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples with more specific detail or logical consequences to ensure the argument is fully developed rather than just stated.

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 benefits from the drawbacks. Cohesive devices such as 'To start with', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing (e.g., 'I also helps' should be 'It also helps'). The flow is generally smooth, but the connection between sentences could be more sophisticated to achieve a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'digital payment methods', 'transaction', and 'circulation'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'fast space' (should be 'fast pace'), 'elder people' (should be 'elderly people'), and 'not use to' (should be 'not used to'). These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a need for more precise control over common collocations and word forms to reach the next level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement ('One of the technology which have been' should be 'One of the technologies that has been') and article usage ('government of the countries' should be 'governments'). Punctuation is generally correct, but there are minor errors like 'there cards' instead of 'their cards'. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensuring subject-verb agreement in complex sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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