Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14

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)

There is an ongoing debate about whether some people believe that individuals may use card or phones for transaction in the shops rather than using cash for paying items in the upcoming years. I partially agree with this view because although paying by cards has advantegous, I think that most of people would be useing cash in the future. This essay will discuss both view in the upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand, there are several reasons behind the notion why people may stop the using cash. First of all, customers may feel unsafe while carry the cash. In other words, sometimes cash can be theft by robbers and may lost during travelling so numbers of people may prefer cards or using mobile phones for transaction. Moreover, cards are very easy for using every shops. Everyone can easily use the cards and they do not need to cary cash alongside. For instance, some years ago, when people do not have knowledge about cards and using phones, they mostly use cash. Due to this, people leads to long queue because pay by cash takes time. Therefore, in this contemporary era, people do not much time, all are in hurry so may they can completely use cards in the future.

On the other hand, there are few folks whose might not be delighted to neglected the cash. One of the primary reasons is old generation. Numerous elder people may not understand how to use new technology for pay at shops. They may get confusion while using the cards and phones. Furthermore, cash assists in that place where electricity may not be available. However, with digital payments, people may feel unsecure because they may wants transactions personal.

In conclusion, although there are many benefits for using cards and smartphones for transaction, I think that it has some drawbacks also. some people do not understand how to pay by cards.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing whether cash will disappear and why some people might be unhappy about giving it up. A position is presented, stating that while digital payments have advantages, cash will likely remain in use. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on why people dislike losing cash touches briefly on the older generation and electricity failures, but these points are under-developed. While the prompt is adequately covered to meet a Band 6 level, the arguments would benefit from deeper elaboration and clearer examples rather than repetitive statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing an overall awareness of paragraphing. However, logical progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing and somewhat mechanical cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the conclusion where ideas are abruptly summarized without smooth transitions. The flow between sentences can feel disjointed due to awkward phrasing and grammatical slips, which pulls the coherence down to a Band 5.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, with terms like 'contemporary era', 'transaction', and 'generation'. However, there are noticeable lexical and word-formation errors throughout the text, such as 'advantegous' instead of advantageous, 'theft' instead of stolen, 'lost' instead of lost, and 'unsecure' instead of insecure. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and spelling or word-choice inaccuracies occasionally cause slight strain for the reader, placing this securely at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, articles, and prepositions, such as 'most of people would be useing', 'while carry the cash', 'easy for using every shops', and 'folks whose might not be delighted to neglected'. Many complex sentence attempts result in awkward or ungrammatical structures that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent grammatical errors constrain the overall score to Band 5.0.

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