Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-14

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 way the technology is rapidly evolving every minute, no wonder the payment through cash will be redundant. And hence, the concept of having physical cash on hand will be a history.

History tells us that how in past the goods were purchased using coins. Imagine carrying a sack of coins with you to purchase the goods. How convenient it has become since its replacement to "paper money" which gets majorly accomodated in a wallet.

Now imagine a world where you're not even carrying the wallet with you anymore. Just your "phone" with you! Seems fascinating, right? That is what exactly the world is leading to.

In my personal experience, my phone is the only thing which I cannot afford to leave. My emails, my contacts, my memories (in the form of pictures) are always with me. My phone also has all the digital cards avaialble for any purchases that I need to make. Even, when I forget my wallet at home, I don't have to be worried anymore.

I remember a day when I was out with my family for an important errand to market that was far from our home. When we reached there, we found out that our wallets were at home and there was no point of going back to home and pickup the wallets and come back since the market was closing in 30 minutes. Luckily I had my digital cards with me in my phone and I quickly ran to the ATM to withdraw the required amount. The digitalization saved the day for us.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You give a clear view that cash will become redundant, and your personal example about using digital cards when your family forgot its wallets supports the move towards phone payments. However, the response does not address the second part of the question: why some people might be unhappy to give up cash. The discussion instead focuses almost entirely on the convenience of digital payment, so the task is only partially answered. The historical comparison between coins and paper money is relevant background, but it does not develop the missing side of the argument. To strengthen the response, explain concerns such as limited access to smartphones or banking, privacy, technical failures, or older people’s preference for familiar payment methods, and support these with an example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable sequence: it introduces the shift from coins to paper money, imagines phone payments, and then gives a personal example. Paragraph breaks help separate these stages, and phrases such as “Now imagine” guide the reader into the next point. However, the overall progression is incomplete because the paragraphs all reinforce the same positive view and do not lead to a discussion of why people may resist cashless payments. Some links are also abrupt: “And hence” does not clearly connect the opening claims, while the final anecdote ends without a concluding summary. A clearer structure, with one paragraph on the likelihood of cashless shopping and another on objections, would make the argument more balanced and easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “physical cash,” “paper money,” “digital cards,” and “digitalization,” and the reader can understand your main point. There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “saved the day.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise, including “payment through cash,” “gets majorly accomodated in a wallet,” and “the concept … will be a history.” Spelling errors such as “accomodated” and “avaialble” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and precise wording—for example, say that cash may “become obsolete” and that banknotes “can be carried in a wallet.” This would make your vocabulary more fluent and appropriate to an essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including questions for effect (“Seems fascinating, right?”), a conditional-style example, and longer sentences explaining your experience. The main ideas remain understandable, but several sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. “The way the technology is rapidly evolving every minute, no wonder…” lacks a clear grammatical frame; “History tells us that how…” incorrectly combines two clause patterns; and “there was no point of going back … and pickup” has faulty construction and parallelism. There are also issues with articles and prepositions, as in “to market” and “back to home.” Work on complete sentence structures and consistent verb forms, and check punctuation around introductory phrases. More accurate control of these patterns would make the argument clearer.

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