Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-16

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 6.0)

Over the coming years, cashless payments will be more in demand. Individuals will make the payments with the bank cards or the smartphones. It is likely that cash will become less common and people will eventually stop accepting it because it is convenient and contactless while it may be hard for elderly people to accept this change.

Now days, technology plays a vital role in life. It has became more common to pay with cards and smartphones because it is faster and easier. Moreover, contactless payments are more secure as compared to the traditional methods.Furthermore, Digital payment will reduce the need to count the cash or to handle it. For instance, people use taps on the phones to pay for their groceries and restaurant bills.

On the other side, some people will find it difficult to trust the digital tools as older people only prefers the methods they are comfortable and familiar with. As well as, technical problems may arise like phone batteries may die or any kind of internet outages while doing a payment and that can cause a inconvenience for the buyers and they might have to skip buying the item. For instance, An elderly person who carries cash all the time might find it difficult to pay with the card on the local stores.

To put this in a nutshell, I believe that cashless payments are likely to boost in coming years due to their easy use and technological development. However, some people may prefer to use the traditional methods of payment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the task prompt, discussing whether cash will eventually disappear and exploring why some people might be unhappy about giving it up, such as older demographics and technical issues. The writer's position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion. Main ideas are presented, such as the convenience of contactless payments and the reliance on digital tools, but they tend to remain somewhat generalized and could benefit from further development and more specific examples. For instance, the mention of elderly people struggling with card payments at local stores is relevant, but it is brief. Overall, the task is adequately addressed, satisfying the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the advantages of digital payments in the second paragraph and the drawbacks in the third. However, some cohesive devices feel slightly mechanical or are used with minor inaccuracies, such as starting a paragraph with 'On the other side' instead of 'On the other hand'. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression between sentences occasionally falters, resulting in a somewhat choppy flow. These features place the response firmly in the Band 6.0 category for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'cashless payments', 'contactless payments', 'groceries', and 'technological development'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are occasionally accompanied by word choice or collocation errors, such as 'cashless payments are likely to boost' instead of 'surge' or 'increase', and 'cause a inconvenience' instead of 'an inconvenience'. Spelling is generally accurate, and errors do not impede communication. The lexical range and control demonstrated here correspond to a Band 6.0 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures like conditional and modal clauses ('It is likely that cash will become less common...'). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'Now days' instead of 'Nowadays', 'has became' instead of 'has become', 'only prefers' (disagreement with plural subject 'older people'), and missing articles or incorrect prepositions ('on the local stores'). Despite these frequent minor errors, they rarely impede overall communication, allowing the student to achieve a Band 6.0 for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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