Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-28

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)

I think in the future cash use would be very little but won’t be prohibited. Nowadays technology is growing incredibly fast and influencing a lot of things in our society such as paying with our phone or using card payments instead of real cash in stores. I do think that payments in the future would generally be done through card or phone payments but I don’t think people won’t be able anymore to pay by cash. For example, in China nowadays, everyone even kids pay with phone payments not even card payments. Cash is never seen during payments. However, some old people who don’t own a phone or a card still carry cash on them to pay. It is actually illegal for stores to refuse a client to pay by cash. Every store has the responsibility to be able to serve their customer by all kinds of payments. That’s why I don’t believe in the future cash payment would completely disappear. People who won’t own a phone or a card would still exist. Whether it’s because they don’t have the ressources or that they just simply don’t want to.

If in the future cash payments really do become nonexistent and people are forced to pay through phone or bank card only, there will be certainly a lot of complaints and disapprovals. Certain people just don’t trust banks and won’t give their funds to a bank. They would rather keep it with them physically. For example, my grandmother doesn’t have any bank cards because she believes banks are not safe and would rob her.

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 limited. While you provide a relevant example regarding China and your grandmother, the analysis remains relatively surface-level. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the broader societal or economic implications of a cashless society, rather than focusing primarily on individual anecdotes. The conclusion is also quite abrupt and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented, which prevents the response from being fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into two main paragraphs, which is acceptable but lacks a clear introduction and a formal conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the transition between the two paragraphs is somewhat abrupt. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'However' and 'For example', but the range is limited, and some connections feel mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure would benefit from more sophisticated linking words to guide the reader through your arguments more fluidly. Paragraphing should be used more effectively to separate the two distinct parts of the prompt.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on common, repetitive phrasing such as 'paying with our phone' and 'using card payments'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'ressources' (spelled incorrectly) and 'disapprovals', which is not the most natural collocation in this context. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to digital finance, such as 'electronic transactions', 'financial inclusion', or 'digital infrastructure', and focus on using more precise collocations to express your ideas with greater sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'I don’t think people won’t be able anymore to pay' is awkward and contains a double negative that confuses the intended meaning. Other issues include subject-verb agreement and minor punctuation errors. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on refining your use of modal verbs and ensuring that your sentence structures are grammatically sound and varied.

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

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