Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19

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 modern era, technology is increasing day by day. Most of people like to pay with card instead of cash. I thinks that this will be happen one day. While, some individuals might not be happy using card and there are several reasons of this statement.

One main reason for using a card in future that it saves money and time because companies may increase their profit which workers spend lot of time to count cash to do transcations which companies might hire less workers and its helps to generate more profit. For example, many individuals like to do self checkout because they don not prefer to stand in lines to do payment due to this, companies are also using technology according to the customers preferences. Another major reason is that people have no stress and worry to take money with them because it is a easier method than physical money.For example, when somebody take cash with them and they have always worry that they don't fall their cash. As a result, individuals want to use digital technology in this modern era.

However, some people still want to use physical money. First major reason is that some individuals do not have digital technology because of financial issues. Furthermore, people also worrry about security. sometimes, companies hack their accounts .For exaample, old people do not know how to use online method to do transcations.

Conclusion, although people prefer to use cards to do payment because it saves time and money, other wants to use cash because of security and privacy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing whether cash will disappear and exploring reasons why some people might be unhappy to give it up, such as security and financial issues. The position is clear throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and occasionally repetitive. For instance, the explanation about companies saving time and money on counting cash is slightly convoluted and under-developed. Examples are provided, such as self-checkout lines and older people not knowing how to use online methods, but they lack depth. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing it firmly in Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is coherent overall with a clear logical arrangement divided into appropriate paragraphs for the introduction, body points, and conclusion. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or faulty. For example, transition phrases like 'One main reason for using a card in future that...' lack necessary grammatical connections, and the conclusion opens abruptly with 'Conclusion, although...' rather than a standard linking phrase. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and some sentences run on without adequate punctuation, which affects the smoothness of progression. Paragraphing is present and separates the main ideas effectively, supporting a Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'digital technology', 'financial issues', and 'self checkout'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'pay with card' instead of 'pay by card', 'this will be happen' instead of 'this will happen', and 'worrry about security. sometimes, companies hack their accounts'. Spelling errors like 'transcations' and 'worrry' also appear. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, these frequent slips prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though control over complex structures is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Most of people like'), tense misuse ('this will be happen'), and missing articles or prepositions ('when somebody take cash with them and they have always worry that they don't fall their cash'). Punctuation is also problematic, with missing commas after introductory elements and fused sentences. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to typify the Band 5 descriptor.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.