Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-12
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 5.5)
Over the time, people may be rely on the plastic money rather than cash, everything needs to be handled by cards and digital banking. I believe human can see such huge transition in the future. However, this would not be compatible for whole world. This essay will discuss reasons and the relevant example from personal perspective.
One major reason for the cashless society can be considered, this would reduce crime and robberies as people need not carry cash with them while shoppings and commuting. Secondly, it would be easy to maintain the records of transactions so person can maintain their spendings through digital payments. For examples many hotels and conventional stores in society has started relying on the cards for quick and hassle free payments.
Nevertheless, Most of the people would not be comfortable with this cashless world as not all the people are tech savvy which would be the biggest trouble for management of such banking applications. For example, whether a person can learn all such management with the help of manuals , customer service and the internet but still it will be hard for old age people. On top of that,
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 193 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas, as the essay ends abruptly mid-sentence. While the response addresses both parts of the prompt—the likelihood of a cashless future and the reasons for resistance—the ideas are under-developed. The arguments regarding crime reduction and ease of record-keeping are mentioned but lack sufficient elaboration or depth. The conclusion is entirely missing, and the final paragraph is incomplete, preventing a clear position from being fully sustained throughout the response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'One major reason', 'Secondly', and 'Nevertheless' to organize ideas. However, the progression is hindered by the incomplete nature of the text. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is cut off, which disrupts the logical flow. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a concluding paragraph makes the overall structure feel unfinished and disjointed. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that the essay concludes with a summary of the main points discussed.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. Phrases like 'plastic money' and 'tech savvy' are used, but there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise terminology related to digital finance. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'handled by cards' instead of 'processed via digital payment systems' and 'maintain their spendings' instead of 'track their expenditure'. The range is sufficient to convey the general meaning, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'Over the time, people may be rely on' (should be 'Over time, people may rely on') and 'this would not be compatible for whole world' (should be 'the whole world'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic sentence construction and verb forms limits the score. More attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage is needed.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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