Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-16

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)

In today's technological world, people prefer to do cashless payment everywhere and avoid to buy things using cash. A group of individuals think that they may unable to pay by cash in shops and have to do cashless transactions by using card or phones in coming days. However, I think the usage of phones and cards would increase to purchase things but would not completely stop. Also some people might be unhappy to give up using cash due to fraud and difficulty in managing budget. My arguments along with its explanations are elaborated further.

As per my perspective, teenagers and educated group of people would increase the use of card and phone for payment upon buying things. This is because they have enough knowledge about using cashless payment methods and think that it is easy and convenient. Nowadays, most of shopkeepers are using UPI and scanning QR code to take payments which is secure due to OTP system. Moreover, few individuals think that it is very risky to carry cash in the purse because of increasing cases of theft. However, I must say the cash payment would not be completely stop as few individuals still prefer cash over card due to lack of knowledge and to lower tax amount.

In addition, I think old age individuals, uneducated group of people and business owners who want to lower tax amount would not be happy giving up cash. Although cashless transaction methods have two step authentication security, it is not fully secure for old age group and uneducated individuals who do not have enough knowledge of using online payment methods. The chances of cyber crime and frauds are very high among this groups. Furthermore, online payment method will show all the transaction records to the authority which means employers need to pay tax for all income they get. On the other hand, if they get cash payment for some things, tax would go lower. For example, few restaurant owners give discount on cash payment so that they can get more cash payment and show lower income to the government that eventually decrease the tax amount.

In conclusion, although online payment methods are getting famous around the globe due to less chances of theft and easy and convenient method, it will not completely stop due to old age group and uneducated people who prefer cash over cards.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear opinion on the future of cash and explaining why some people might be reluctant to abandon it. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of tax evasion and security concerns for the elderly. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the second and third paragraphs where the same points about security and tax are revisited. To reach a higher band, the arguments could be more distinct and supported with more varied examples beyond just restaurant owners or general groups.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main parts of the prompt. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand' are used to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'My arguments along with its explanations are elaborated further', which is a redundant sentence that does not add value to the progression of the essay.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'cashless transactions', 'two-step authentication', and 'cyber crime'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'cash payment would not be completely stop' (should be 'stopped') and 'getting famous' (should be 'becoming popular' or 'gaining popularity'). The repetition of basic terms like 'group of people' also limits the lexical variety.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms and articles. Examples include 'people prefer to do cashless payment' (should be 'make cashless payments'), 'they may unable to pay' (should be 'they may be unable to pay'), and 'among this groups' (should be 'among these groups'). These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of modal verbs.

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

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