Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

In the nearest future, people may no longer be able to use cash to pay for goods purchased in shops. Payments might be done using cards or mobile phones. Although, some individuals might be unwillingly to embrace this beacause of lack of technological skills and cyber insecurity, I believe this may become our reality someday.

One major reason why people may not accept a cashless society is because of the incresasing rate of cyber fraud and theft. Many people have lost money through these means due to insecured network and weak transaction password which are easily assessed but could be averted by the use of a two factor authentication system. For example, I personally had an experience where my card payment was uncompleted at the time becauses of network interferance, but later the same day, I was debited of transactions I never authorised.

Another reason is this, with the growing rate of technology, the non-literate and aged or elderly ones in the society who find it difficult to cope with the technological trend might feel left out. When this happens, they feel isolated from the society and may not be able to purchase their needed goods. For example, the old women in the local markets may have a hard time adapting to the use of this means of payment.

Furthermore, with the pace of development in the financial sector, payments via cards and mobile phone is a plus to the industry as this removes the hassel of queuing in the bank to withdraw cash, making transactions stress free and effective. Measures should be put in place to promote network servers and increase security of personal datas.

To conclude, although loss of money to cyber thefts and illiteracy may impede the embracement of digital payment, cashless payment may one day be embraced. Efforts

should be geared towards reinforcing online security and incorporating a more technical payment measures that accomodates the aged society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses both parts of the prompt: it presents a clear position that a cashless society will likely happen one day, and it explores valid reasons why some people might not be happy to give up cash. All parts of the task are covered, although some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the paragraph detailing cyber fraud is supported with a clear personal example, whereas the discussion surrounding the elderly population, while relevant, remains somewhat generalized and brief. The ideas presented are generally clear, representing a solid performance that fully satisfies the criteria for the lower band while showing partial development characteristic of the next. To reach higher levels, every main point should be extended with equally thorough explanations or examples, ensuring a fully balanced depth of argument across all paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement and logical progression throughout. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as cyber insecurity in the second paragraph and technological illiteracy in the third. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, using transitions like 'One major reason', 'Another reason is this', and 'To conclude'. However, referencing and cohesion can sometimes feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'Another reason is this'. Furthermore, some linking phrases lack smooth integration. To achieve a higher band, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible variety of cohesive devices organically, ensuring that referencing between sentences is seamless and unobtrusive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'cyber fraud', 'two factor authentication', and 'technological trend'. However, there are notable lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'nearest future', 'unwillingly' instead of 'unwilling', 'beacause', 'incresasing', 'insecured', 'interferance', 'debited of', 'hassel', and 'datas'. These errors in word choice, word form, and spelling occasionally detract from the precision of the writing, though they do not seriously impede communication. To move up to a higher band, the vocabulary range needs to be expanded with greater control over word choice, collocation, and spelling accuracy, minimizing slips when using less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as concessive clauses ('Although, some individuals might...') and relative clauses ('who find it difficult...'). There are some errors in grammar and punctuation present in the text, such as unnecessary commas ('Although, some individuals...'), subject-verb agreement issues ('payments via cards and mobile phone is'), and prepositions within grammatical patterns ('debited of transactions'). Despite these inaccuracies, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument without difficulty. This demonstrates the typical mix of error-free and flawed sentences expected at this level. To attain a higher band, the proportion of error-free complex sentences must increase, showing finer control over punctuation, agreement, and prepositional usage.

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