Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-25

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)

Cash payments will get completely vanished from the market very soon, as already people are relying on card payments or digital paymets through the phone. The main reason for this migration is convenience: payment through the mobile phone are way quicker and easier than cash.

Nowadays, majority of the world population uses smartphones, and that has made many daily activities way more easier and convenient and making payments is one of them. Small number of people who doesn't own smarthone are more likely to make payments through bank cards. Therefore very small number of buyers still use cash as a mode of payment. These small number of buyer will no longer exist in near future due to the revolution in the IT sector. These small number of cash users are most likely serior citizens, who doesn't really understand how to use smartphone, and this could be the reason for cash may no longer be able to pay for things in the near future, as newer generation already adopted this new method payments.

Although, there might be some people who might not convience with new mode of payments and continues using cash to pay for things. One reason I could see is ongoing digital scams, while digital mode of payments are convenience, it brings some disadvantages as well. Day by day, increasing number of digital scams losing user's trust in it, and that could lead use of cash payments by victims. Although, Government and police department actively working to educate people not share sensitive bank related information to anyone and also develops cyber crime invetigation department, which is the dedicated department to investigate such crime.

In conclusion, the new digital revolution brought new advancement into fraudster as well which may lead some people to continue use of cash. But overall, majority of world's population adopted new method of payments.

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 to give them up. The student presents a clear position that cash will likely vanish due to the rise of digital payments, but acknowledges that security concerns and scams cause some people to continue using cash. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding senior citizens and security issues. Examples are drawn from general knowledge rather than specific personal experiences, which is acceptable, but the arguments could be extended further. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing it firmly at a band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and logical progression, moving from the prediction of a cash-free society to the counter-argument regarding scams, and concluding with a summary. Paragraphing is utilised, though some paragraphs could be structured better. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes in a repetitive or slightly mechanical manner, such as the frequent repetition of 'these small number of' or 'although'. Referencing is generally clear, but transitional phrases could be more sophisticated and varied to enhance the flow of ideas. It meets the criteria for band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'migration', 'convenience', 'revolution', and 'cyber crime investigation'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'paymets' instead of 'payments', 'smarthone' instead of 'smartphone', 'serior' instead of 'senior', and 'convience' instead of 'convinced'. Additionally, collocations are sometimes awkward, such as 'lead use of cash payments' instead of 'lead to the continued use of cash'. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they restrict the score to a band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and concessive clauses ('Although, there might be some people who...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'majority of the world population' instead of 'the majority of the world's population', and 'newer generation already adopted' instead of 'the newer generation has already adopted'. Punctuation is also occasionally faulty, with misplaced commas separating clauses improperly. While communication is not severely hindered, the density of errors prevents the grammar score from reaching a higher band, making 5.5 an appropriate evaluation.

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