Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The question about whether the payments should be done with cash or debit or credit cards is increasingly a matter of concern.The main predominant reasons of this arising trend would be busy work oriented environment and the tech driven impact on individuals life. From my perception, it would have been accepted by many .The essay will elaborate the reasons behind this phenomenon in my upcoming paragraphs.

The most salient cause is that the service offering areas such as shopping malls, stores and the restaurants are incredibly being chaotic and they have enough time to tackle with the large number of queues which in turn they want from customers to do the payments with self check machines or cards rather than by paying with physical money.To support this,many reputed food courts;one of them is Tim hortons has been always fulled with people at peak hours so employees are more likely to get the payments with phones.

The another worth mentioning point is that the people are more tech savvy now and the technology is everywhere that people tends to use the modern methods of paying bills and other expenses via apps at homes instead of visiting personally to locations.It leads to save the precious time which they can enjoy with their loved onces .Many developed and undeveloped nations are using these advanced techniques and enoying the new change in their lives.

From my opinion,i am strongly admitting that the trend would be flourished and people will prefer to use the cards rather than money on account of various reasons which i discussed prior in the above paragraphs.

To recapitualte, according to the above aforementioned points that supports that choices and preferences of customers are changing with the time .Thus, the trend of paying with cash will be totally dimished with the passage of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing whether cash will disappear and exploring why some people might be unhappy about giving it up, such as technological barriers or personal preferences. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on why people might be unhappy about giving up cash conflates convenience with the desire to use cash, rather than focusing deeply on the reasons people might resist a cashless society. The position is stated, but the support lacks depth and relies on generalisations. The response meets the task requirements in terms of addressing the prompt, but the ideas require more comprehensive extension and clearer focus to reach a higher band. Therefore, a band score of 5.5 is appropriate for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay has a recognisable organisational structure with introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, though the sequencing of ideas feels mechanical. Paragraphing is attempted, but transitions between sentences are sometimes awkward or faulty. For example, phrases like 'To support this, many reputed food courts; one of them is Tim hortons has been always fulled with people' disrupt the flow and logical progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often repetitive or inappropriate, such as 'To recapitualte, according to the above aforementioned points'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, which impedes the smooth reading of the text. Overall, the coherence is adequate for a band 5.0, as the progression is sometimes hampered by poor mechanical linking and a lack of smooth transitions.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a limited but minimally adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'predominant', 'tech savvy', and 'dimished'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and spelling throughout the response, including 'fulled' instead of 'filled', 'enoying' instead of 'enjoying', and 'recapitualte' instead of 'recapitulate'. These errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'busy work oriented environment', occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader and show a lack of precise control over lexical items. While the writer attempts to use varied vocabulary, the persistent inaccuracies place this performance firmly at a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently marred by grammatical errors and poor punctuation. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('the people are more tech savvy now and the technology is everywhere that people tends to use'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('From my opinion, i am strongly admitting'). Punctuation is also problematic, with spacing errors after commas and periods. These frequent errors in grammar and mechanics can cause some difficulty for the reader, although communication is generally maintained. Because the range of structures is limited and accuracy is inconsistent, a band 5.0 is awarded for Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

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