Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-15

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)

In this adavanced era, most of the people like to prefer online payment modes rather than cashes. In the upcoming years, people may not like to do payment by cash in shopes. They may like to do by cards or phones. I think, it would be happen in the following years. This is mainly because of new- technology which is easily accessible. The reasons behind why people may not happy to use cash will be explained in the following fragments.

To intiate with, one of the main reason is that new technology. This is mainly because, nowadays, people have applications like apple wallet, g- pay in their smart phones which is easy to use. For instance, if a person buy something from the shop , then they just have to tap their device to do a single payment. They do not have to take a cash with them. They just need their mobilr phone to make a payment.

Moving futher, the another reason for not using cash is that physical cards. Now, everyone has their own cards like credit or debit and any kind of master cards, which is easy to carry rather preferring a cash. For example, if somewhere cards may have stolen, then people can immediately block it through calling the bank or customer care, and also cards has a pin a which is difficult to use for someone who pick it. But this is impossible for people who has cash. They may do nothing or may do police report.

To conclude, people may prefer more cards or smart phone while doing their payment in the store as compared to cash. advanced technology may have great positive impacts and also easy to use,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: whether cash payments will disappear and why some people might be unhappy about it. The writer takes a clear position in the introduction stating that cashless transactions will become the norm and outlines reasons regarding technology and security. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial. For instance, the discussion on security focuses narrowly on stolen cards and pins without fully exploring wider socio-economic concerns, such as the digital divide for elderly populations or privacy issues. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat repetitive and lack the full extension required for higher bands. Nevertheless, all parts of the prompt are addressed, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate main ideas, such as technological accessibility and physical card security. However, cohesive devices are frequently faulty, mechanical, or unnatural. Expressions like 'To intiate with', 'Moving futher, the another reason', and 'In this adavanced era' demonstrate awkward transitions and poor management of referencing. Pronoun referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases where plurals and singulars do not agree ('people... which is easy to use'). Because cohesion is at times mechanical and inaccurate, the response fits the Band 5.5 profile.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic ideas about digital payments and security. However, there is a noticeable presence of spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'adavanced', 'cashes', 'shopes', 'intiate', 'mobilr', and 'futher'. The range of vocabulary is fairly limited and repetitive, relying on basic terms like 'easy to use' and 'make a payment'. While the writer attempts some less common terms, inaccuracies in collocation and spelling prevent the response from achieving a higher band. These errors do not completely impede communication, aligning the response with a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'most of the people like to prefer', 'take a cash', and 'cards has a pin a which is difficult to use'. Punctuation is also problematic, particularly with comma splices and run-on sentences in the conclusion. While some simpler sentences are constructed correctly, the frequent grammatical errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader, which is characteristic of a Band 5.0 performance.

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

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