Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In a number of countries, some people think it is necessary to spend large sums of money on constructing new railway lines for very fast trains between cities. Others believe the money should be spent on improving existing public transport.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

People have different views a number of nations, many individuals believe that it is important to spend money on making new railway lines for very fast trains between cities. Other people believe that the money should be spent on improving the public transportation. In my opinion, I believe that the public authorities should spend money on developing public transportation.

There are a number of reasons why constructing new rail lines is important. This is because new contracting railway lines can provides new job opportunities. Moreover, if the governments create new railway lines this constraction sites need more workers and individuals can easily earn more money from the constraction sites. In fact, when people work in new railways lines that people may improve their financial growth. Furthermore, new railway lines can save time because rural people can easily go to city in a short time. For example, a recent survey showed countryside areas people can easily move in cities in a short time. As a result, contracting new railway lines may have numerous benefiits for everyone.

Despite the arguements, other people the money should be spend on developing the public transportation. This is mainly because the public authorities should be spend money on public vehicles cause it can save times and money. Moreover, when the governments lunch some advanced electronic device that can save money and time. For instance, electric bus can help save time and money from fuel cost. Therefore, that may help develop financial growth.

In conclusiom, people may have vary in their opinion, I believe that the government should only focus on imroving public transportation because that it can save time and also money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both proposed uses of public money and state a clear preference for improving public transport, so the response addresses the main parts of the task. The case for new railways includes employment and faster journeys for rural residents, while the opposing view mentions savings from electric buses. However, these points are mostly asserted rather than explained: the survey example is vague, and the benefits of improving transport are not compared directly with the costs or reach of high-speed rail. The conclusion repeats your preference but gives little further justification. To strengthen the response, explain how each benefit affects people and support the comparison with a specific, relevant example. (Nine words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of your argument, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “For example,” and “In conclusion” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is often repetitive or unclear. In the first body paragraph, several sentences repeat that new railways create jobs or bring benefits, while “In fact, when people work in new railways lines that people may improve their financial growth” is difficult to follow. The second paragraph also moves quickly from public vehicles to electronic devices and electric buses without clearly connecting the points. Organise each paragraph around one main claim, then explain and illustrate it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “job opportunities,” “public transportation,” “rural people,” and “fuel cost,” and the reader can generally identify your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make the writing less precise. Examples include “contracting railway lines” for constructing railways, “lunch” for launch, “benefiits,” “arguements,” and “imroving.” Phrases such as “financial growth” and “save times” are also not natural in these contexts. Aim to learn topic-specific collocations and check spelling carefully; using a smaller number of accurate, precise expressions will make your argument clearer than repeating general terms such as “money” and “time.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because,” “if,” and “when.” This gives the response some structural variety, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur often enough to make several sentences awkward or difficult to interpret. For example, “new contracting railway lines can provides” has an incorrect verb form, and “the public authorities should be spend money” uses an incorrect verb construction. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and sentence structure, as in “the public transportation” and “that people may improve their financial growth.” Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check that each clause has a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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