Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-17
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)
It is certainly ture that technology make individual like more convenient, faster and flexible as compared to past, and making payment through phone is one of this part. According to my perspective, people would be paid by their cards instead of using cash in the upcoming era,which has number of reasons which i will discuess in this paragraph.
To commence with, there are number of cause why people prefer to use cards for paying shops bills. First of all, this method is easy and safest as compared to pay cash. In other words, If individual have lots of cash then the chances of stealing by theift may be increased.Even they can get injured during fight with theift for preserving their money.Hence, paying bill by cards are more safe then carrying cash. They just need to tape the card and payment done within few minutes. Moreover, they only know the pin code of their cards if these lost then they can easily block though their phones.
Furthermore, they can control their expences if they do payment by their phones. because they have record of their payment which they spent during shopping. Therefore, they can conserve their money for their future. Moreover,this idea is very beneficial for senior citizens.For example, a recent survey by "The Times of India" newspaper indicated that approximetely 57% older people utilized Google pay, Phone pay and paytm for paying medical, groceries, electericity and phone bills, and they said this method is flexible and comfertable for them. By doing this, they have no need to go outside and they can relax without having any worries of paying bills outside. Thus, they will like to use this way for their rest of life.
In conclusion,although paying cash payment is traditional method but utilizing cards for people make their life more convenient, faster and safer, and i think this approch would be replaced the paying method of cash.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: whether cash will disappear in favor of card and phone payments, and why some people might be unhappy about giving it up. A clear position is established early in the introduction, stating that digital payments will likely replace cash. The student supports their viewpoint with relevant ideas regarding safety, convenience, and expense tracking, and includes a survey example about older citizens. However, some arguments lack full development or slip into minor irrelevancies, such as the dramatic mention of getting 'injured during fight with theift'. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure ideas into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Transitional markers such as 'To commence with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are utilized to guide the reader, although some cohesive devices are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'According to my perspective' and 'In other words, If individual have lots of cash'. Paragraphing is present, though the main body content tends to run together in a dense block rather than being neatly subdivided. Referencing is occasionally unclear, but overall progression is maintained throughout the response, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for the task, including terms like 'convenient', 'flexible', 'senior citizens', and 'expences'. However, there are numerous word choice and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'ture' instead of 'true', 'theift' instead of 'thief', 'approch' instead of 'approach', and 'electericity' instead of 'electricity'. Less common vocabulary is attempted but often marred by incorrect collocation or morphology (e.g., 'paying shops bills' instead of 'shop bills' or 'shopping bills'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as conditional and relative clauses ('If individual have lots of cash then the chances of stealing... may be increased'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring persistent errors in subject-verb agreement ('technology make individual like more convenient', 'if these lost then they can easily block'), missing articles ('payment done within few minutes'), and incorrect pluralization. Punctuation errors are also notable, including spacing issues after commas and periods. Because these errors occur frequently and occasionally strain the reader, the grammar performance aligns best with Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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