Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05

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)

Individuals may not use cash for their shopping in stores in upcoming years and their shopping would be cashless. The majority of the payment may done by utilizing smartphones or card. As far as I concern, cashless shopping may not possible because of the technical isssues may aries while using card or phone for the payment. Many individuals believe that cash is still play crucial role for daily transaction.

The prime reason for this argument is that technology. people facing problems when they use modern payment systems such as bank cards and digital payment via smartphones. Even though, it is extremely challenging to operate those payment system for older community and they are still rely on cash for their shopping. For example, in many rural areas, individauls do not have any information on digital payment method and also those method required adeqaute internet service because of the poor internet connection in those areas. Hence, cashless transaction are quite difficult and people have to depant on paper money because of that I think real money would not disappear in the future.

Other reason why cash is powerful source of payment is because of the easy trasnsaction. Every payments do not required considerable time With the help of paper money. In addition, many individuals are illiterate and digital paymemt system is challenging for them that's why they prefer cash for their daily purchases. For instance, in many underdeveloped cities, people do not to pay tax on the purchases, moreover some restaurants and shops only take papper money for their goods and services. Therefore, currency is still valuable commodity for any financial transactions.

To sum up, people may use plastic money or digital payment method for their shopping in future, however I think currency is important in human's live and could not replacable from bank cards and modern payment system because older people could face many issues with it and cash would not be disappear from the market in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing whether a cashless society will emerge and exploring why some people might be unhappy to abandon cash, such as technical issues and the needs of older or illiterate populations. However, the development of these ideas is uneven. For instance, the point regarding older communities is introduced but remains somewhat under-developed, and the argument about taxes and restaurants in the third paragraph is slightly unclear. The writer's position is generally clear throughout the essay, but the lack of fully extended supporting examples keeps the response at this level. To move further, the student needs to elaborate fully on each supporting point with precise explanations and well-integrated examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph begins with a clear topic sentence, such as 'The prime reason for this argument is that technology.' However, the use of cohesive devices is at times mechanical or faulty, seen in transitions like 'Other reason' (missing an article) and repetitive referencing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas, but the logical progression within paragraphs occasionally falters due to abrupt shifts between examples. To improve cohesion, the writer should employ a wider and more natural variety of linking words and ensure seamless transitions between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'underdeveloped cities', 'financial transactions', and 'cashless shopping'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occur throughout the text, including 'isssues', 'aries', 'depant', 'trasnsaction', 'paymemt', and 'papper'. Additionally, some collocations are awkward or inaccurate, such as 'cash is still play crucial role' and 'currency is still valuable commodity'. While these lexical shortcomings do not completely impede communication, they restrict the score because they reflect control limited to basic and moderately varied terms with frequent slips in word form.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied structures through conditional and dependent clauses like 'Even though, it is extremely challenging to operate those payment system for older community'. Nevertheless, there are frequent grammatical errors involving subject-verb agreement ('the majority of the payment may done', 'those method required', 'every payments do not required'), article usage ('the technology', 'human's live'), and singular/plural mismatches ('those payment system'). Punctuation is also occasionally unreliable. These errors represent a pattern of frequent slips in complex structures that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, fitting the description of a limited range of largely faulty complex attempts.

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