Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-02

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)

In this modern era, everything is changing with the help of technology. In most of the countries, people are more dependant on cards, apple pay and other digital apps rather than paying in cash. I do not think that it will happen one day that nobody using cash in newr future. Also there are stong evidence that people may resist it. This essay will discuss all the possibilities and outcomes in upcoming paragraphs.

I think a cashless future may will happen one day in countries like, Sweden, South Korea and Japan but because digital payments extremelly helpfull. Specially among yongsters, they like to do payments by cards, UPI, Googlepay, Paytm and so many other applications in different countries. For instance, Demenetization happened in India in 2016, massess were glad from these apps and nobody using black money and from digital apps it becomes easy to track tax and income of the people of any nation.

On the other hand, a cashless country cannot exist. Old generation are not tech savy so they do not have proper knowledge and about new upcoming apps and digital payment methonds so they will not happy with this. Furthermore, Cards and any digital apps can be hacked and hackers can get all the informations and can take their money from banks. For example, In india, in 2019, a havker from Bihar, take OTP from one of the customer whose account was in HDFC bank and robbed him with 25 Lakhs(indian currency). Sometime phone is dead and do not have enough battery for paying bills so cash should be there in future as well.

In conclusion, countries should have both the payment methods cash and digital because all the countries rely on citizens and people should happy with the laws and other inventions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question and give a clear overall view: digital payments may become common, but cash should remain available. The discussion of older people, security risks and phone batteries is relevant, and the India example gives one reason for the growth of digital payments. However, your position is not fully consistent: you first say a cashless future may happen in some countries, then state that “a cashless country cannot exist.” Clarify whether you think cash will disappear everywhere or only remain necessary for some groups. Some points, such as the claim that digital apps mean “nobody using black money,” need clearer explanation or more careful qualification. Develop the reasons for resistance with a little more detail to make the response more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate discussion of digital payments and objections, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader follow the main topics, and signposts such as “On the other hand” and “Furthermore” show relationships between ideas. However, progression is sometimes weakened by the contradiction between predicting a cashless future and saying one cannot exist. Some links are also mechanical, and the introduction’s promise to discuss “all the possibilities and outcomes” is vague. Within paragraphs, connect examples more explicitly to the point they support—for instance, explain how the hacking example demonstrates why people may distrust cashless systems. Clearer referencing and a more consistent line of argument would make the organisation smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “digital payments,” “cashless,” “hackers,” “track tax and income,” and “payment methods.” These choices make the subject clear, and you attempt more specific expressions such as “tech savvy” and “black money.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “dependant,” “extremelly,” “Demenetization,” “massess,” and “havker.” Some collocations are also unnatural, such as “glad from these apps” and “do payments.” These do not usually prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and fluency. Aim to learn common payment-related collocations and check spelling carefully; more accurate phrasing would help you express your ideas without relying on repeated general words such as “people” and “apps.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “On the other hand” and a reason clause beginning “because.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward. For example, “I do not think that it will happen one day that nobody using cash” needs a complete verb phrase, while “a cashless future may will happen” combines incompatible modal forms. In “Old generation are not tech savy,” the subject and verb do not agree, and “they will not happy” is missing a verb. Practise building accurate clauses first, then add subordinate clauses and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb.

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