Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-10

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 6.0)

In this world of technology things evolve fast, so is the financial transactions market. People are used to paying for things using cash but that may go away soon as a lot of tech companies have introduced cashless methods of paying in the market.

You can now pay for things using card or phone. Phones may eventually become the go to instrument or device for taking care of all the financial transactions. As banks have made getting a credit card easier, it will further fuel this change.

I believe this is definitely going to happen and some people may not accept this change, specially the older generation. Our parents and grandparents come from a time where life was simple and transactions were small scale, so paying with cash was sustainable. But the current and future generations will accept this new trend and will only use phones for everything as we can see today.

The reason this change might be widely accepted by majority and rejected by minority is because India is a country with a large portion of youth population. Young people prefer an easy life where they don't want extra effort. With cashless methods like UPI, you can just scan a QR code at merchant and pay the money. Unlike cash where you always struggle to get exact change from shopkeeper and they end up giving you candies for change of coins.

These cashless instruments like card, UPI and NFC will enable customer to pay the exact money and never worry about change of coins or cash. Plus it would be easier to track where all the money was spent everyday as the details would appear in their bank statements or sms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the likelihood of a cashless future and the reasons for resistance. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the explanation regarding the youth population and convenience is well-supported with specific examples like UPI and QR codes, the discussion on why people might be unhappy is limited primarily to the 'older generation' and the inconvenience of physical change. To reach a higher band, you could explore broader concerns such as data privacy, security risks, or the digital divide for those without access to technology, which would provide a more comprehensive analysis of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as the inevitability of the trend or the reasons for its adoption. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'But the current and future generations' and 'Unlike cash where...', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by ensuring that the discussion of why people might be unhappy is more distinct from the discussion of why the change is accepted. Overall, the flow of ideas is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'financial transactions', 'sustainable', and 'merchant'. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'go to instrument' (should be 'go-to method') and 'change of coins' (which is slightly unnatural; 'small change' or 'coins' is better). While you attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary, the range is somewhat limited. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and less common lexical items to express your ideas with greater precision and style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'so is the financial transactions market' (should be 'so is the financial transaction market'), 'specially' (should be 'especially'), and 'by majority' (should be 'by the majority'). Additionally, there are minor issues with articles and pluralization, such as 'at merchant' (should be 'at a merchant'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly enhance your accuracy.

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

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