Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26

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 next few years, while shopping people might not be able to pay through cash and they may do the payments only by using cards or mobile phones. I believe this is impossible to happen everywhere. The reasons and why people do not want the given change in the notion will be discuss in the following paragraphs.

The most prominent reason why this change is not going to happen is due to increase in cyber crime. Nowadays if people use cards or mobile phones to complete the payments then there is a huge risk of sharing personal information with the websites that are not trust worthy. Furthermore, this is unsafe for individuals to reveal the identity with strangers that can be used for the crimes or the bank accounts can be hacked that results in loosing money form the account. Many people use alternative methods such as cash on delivery which is good to use for the safety.

In addition to this, I reckons using cash as a payment method is a easy job for the people and it is convenient for every age group because many of the old age people do not know how to pay using cards or through mobile phones. Moreover, I have seen many old individuals were having a issue of using the electronics gadgets on shopping stores. In this case cash is better option to use to pay for all of them.

To conclude, I believe using cards or mobile phones to pay in the shopping centers or on online stores in future is not a practical implementation due to the major reason that is cybercrime. Especially old age people do not want this change because of their convenience.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the likelihood of a cashless society and the reasons for public resistance. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention cybercrime and the needs of the elderly, the arguments could be extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis. For instance, you could have discussed the role of government policy or the digital divide in more detail. The position is clear throughout, but the overall depth of the response is more characteristic of a Band 6, as the ideas are relevant but could be more fully developed to reach a higher level of sophistication.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In addition to this', and 'To conclude' to link your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel slightly repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, though some sentences are a bit disjointed. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the progression between sentences within paragraphs is smoother. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'prominent', 'cybercrime', and 'practical implementation'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and minor errors, such as 'do the payments' instead of 'make payments', 'not trust worthy' (should be one word), and 'loosing' instead of 'losing'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To reach a higher band, focus on using more natural collocations and refining your spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there is a noticeable frequency of grammatical errors. Examples include 'In next few years' (missing article), 'I reckons' (subject-verb agreement), 'a easy job' (incorrect article), and 'were having a issue' (tense and article usage). While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, pay closer attention to basic subject-verb agreement, article usage, and consistent verb tenses. Increasing the variety of error-free complex structures will help you move into a higher band.

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

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