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)

A survey says that people will stop paying up for their products with cash and will use only cards or phones to pay. I think that will be a positive turn in everyday lifestyle. It is also predicted that this change will happen one day. There are many reasons people will start hating this form of payment process as there are many reason which will be discussed in this essay.

One of the main reason of not using up the cash payment method will lead up to more and more false transactions or the transactions from which the person is unaware of. Talking about the people who still don't know how to use a card or phone to complete the purchase will be in trouble beacuse of giving up using cash. Humans have to use their card even for small purchases for which they can be charged a small amount on their card.

There will be a fear of getting the card lost or stolen, due to which they can get bankrupt in seconds if the card is misused. If banks make it compulsory to pay annual fees for normal debit card or credit car everytime you use it , then it will also make the civilians unhappy and will remember the golden days when they were buying stuff easily with cash in thier pockets. In this time of world, still there are few places in world where only cash is accepted as a way of payment, so it will not be worthy or possible visiting those kind of places.

To conclude, no matter there are many benefits of having card payments everywhere but still as every coin has two sides, this purpose of giving up using cash also has its own disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: you predict that cashless payments will become common, and you give reasons some people may resist, including unfamiliarity with cards, fear of theft, fees, and places that still accept cash. However, your position is not fully clear at the start: you call the change positive, then say people will “start hating” it, without explaining how these views fit together. The reasons are relevant but often asserted rather than developed. For example, the claim that a stolen card could make someone “bankrupt in seconds” needs qualification or a realistic example, and the point about fees could explain who charges them and why. Explain your prediction directly and support each main reason more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the ideas generally relate to the topic. The body paragraphs group concerns about unfamiliarity and security, then fees and cash-only locations. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and linking phrases can sound mechanical or introduce confusing relationships. For instance, “One of the main reason … will lead up to” does not clearly connect the stated reason to the consequence, while “In this time of world” does not establish a clear transition to the point about cash-only places. The introduction also repeats the idea that cash use will end. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each explanation explicitly to the question.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “transactions,” “debit card,” “credit card,” “annual fees,” and “misused,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “the golden days,” though this is less suitable for a formal essay. A limited range of imprecise or unnatural expressions makes some points harder to follow: “paying up for their products,” “false transactions,” and “not be worthy” do not convey the intended meanings clearly. Spelling errors such as “beacuse,” “thier,” and “everytime” are noticeable. Aim for accurate collocations and more precise terms—for example, distinguish unauthorised transactions from ordinary payment errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If banks make it compulsory … then it will also make the civilians unhappy.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, sentence construction and punctuation occur frequently enough to affect clarity. Examples include “One of the main reason” (singular subject requires a singular noun), “the person is unaware of” (the sentence structure is incomplete), and “Humans have to use their card … for which they can be charged,” where the reference of “which” is unclear. The opening also shifts between prediction and opinion without a clear grammatical link. Practise building shorter, complete sentences first, then combine ideas with controlled clauses and check agreement and punctuation.

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