Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-06

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)

Undoubtedly, it is true that in the upcoming time, individuals will not use cash for paying in shops. Everyone would like to pay by their debit, and Mastercard's or by phones. I will discuss about it in the upcoming paragraphs about this will happen one day and also why majority of people would not like to give up cash.

On the one side, the main reason is that this will happen in the future because we are in technology era, everything is replacing, some people do not like to keep cash with them every time. To explain it, they would like to keep cards with them in purse or by adding cards in apple wallet. This helps them to keep their money safe. For instance, in Canada, everyone is using wallet apps. when people something from shops, they transact the money through phone. Therefore, this helps them secure their money.

On the other hand, some multitudes would not like to happy to give up cash because they think they have to go to bank for deposit their money. To explicate it, when people will get money from work, they have to deposit and it will take time. To epitome it, if a person does work when he or she receives their pay, they have to go branch. As a consequence, they think it is waste of time.

In conclusion, it is true that in the future people will pay by cards or phones because they do not want to keep money with them every time, however, other people think it is waste of time because they will have to go bank for depositing the money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether cash will disappear and why some people might hesitate to give it up, fulfilling the basic requirements of the task. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, keeping the content at this level. For instance, while the writer mentions safety and convenience as reasons for the shift towards cards and phones, the examples provided, such as using wallet apps in Canada, lack depth and extension. Similarly, the counter-argument regarding depositing money at the bank is introduced but remains overly repetitive and lacks strong supporting evidence. A clearer overall position is established, but the reasoning and examples require further elaboration and more specific explanation to fully satisfy the demands of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the opposing viewpoints. However, the cohesion between sentences and clauses is sometimes faulty or mechanical. The writer relies heavily on formulaic and repetitive transitional phrases such as 'To explain it,' 'To epitome it,' and 'On the one side,' which makes the flow feel somewhat unnatural. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'when a person does work when he or she receives their pay.' While the logical progression is generally discernible, these mechanical cohesive devices prevent the text from achieving a higher level of fluency.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic message of the essay. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items, such as 'technology era,' 'transact,' and 'explicate,' but these attempts are often accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form, as seen in phrases like 'multitudes would not like to happy' and 'go branch.' Spelling and word-choice errors are present throughout the text, such as 'Mastercard's' and 'for deposit,' which occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader and impede smooth communication. To improve, the writer needs to expand their range of vocabulary and focus on using appropriate collocations and accurate word forms in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside some attempts at complex forms. These attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, containing errors such as missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and awkward clause structures, exemplified by sentences like 'individuals will not use cash for paying in shops' and 'people will have to go bank for depositing the money.' Frequent errors in verb forms, tenses, and sentence construction are apparent throughout the text, which can cause some difficulty for the reader. While communication is not entirely broken down, the high frequency of grammatical inaccuracies prevents the writing from achieving a more secure control of sentence forms.

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