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)

In some countries, some people believe that spending large amount of money on building new railway lines for very fast trains among cities are most beneficial. While other argue that improving existing public transport is most important. Although both views has valid arguments but i firmly believe that spending money on existing public transport is most beneficial.

There is a number of people who think that spending large amount of money on constructung new railway lines for that purpose to install bullet trains or fast trains will be very important. Some peope face difficulties to reach workplace, schools, offices or shopping malls etc, that's why they believe that this initiative will be working. For example, if a student reach to school in one hour and then also back home in one hour its mean that he waste two hours in travelling. If the fast trains are introduced in cities it will save their precious time, which they will spend in studying.

While others argue that, it is important to spend money on the existing public transport to make it suitable for travelling. Because instead of introducing new trains it is the priority of the government to repair the current public transport. For example if their is less number of puublic buses so most of the time it will be overcrowded, passengers will face difficulty during travelling. If the number of buses increases all people will travel easily and will find it more convienient.

In conclusion, both ideas have valid arguments but in my opinion if they current tranport system is managed well and responsibly all individuals will find it more convienient.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state a clear preference for improving existing public transport, especially in the introduction and conclusion. The examples are relevant: faster trains could reduce a student’s commute, while adding buses could ease overcrowding. However, the two arguments are not developed equally or in much depth. The case for new rail lines focuses mainly on saving time for students, without explaining why this benefit justifies the large investment or how it compares with improvements to existing services. Your own opinion is clear, but the conclusion would be stronger if it briefly explained why better-managed current transport is the more practical or widely beneficial choice.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. This makes the discussion easy to follow, and transitions such as “While others argue” signal the change in viewpoint. The organisation is coherent, but some linking is mechanical, with repeated patterns such as “For example” and repeated references to “spending money.” A few connections are also awkward: the opening of the second body paragraph begins with “Because,” leaving the reason as a fragment, and “Although both views has valid arguments but” combines two contrasting structures. Use a wider range of natural transitions and make the relationship between each example and its main point explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “railway lines,” “public transport,” “overcrowded,” and “precious time.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors are noticeable. Phrases such as “among cities” and “spending large amount of money on constructung” are not natural, while “working” is vague in “this initiative will be working.” There are also misspellings such as “peope,” “puublic,” and “convienient.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument, but they reduce precision and fluency. Learn common transport collocations and proofread spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional forms such as “If the fast trains are introduced … it will save their precious time.” However, complex structures are often inaccurate, and errors occur across the response. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “some people … are most beneficial” and “both views has,” as well as article and number errors in “a large amount” and “a student reach.” The sentence beginning “Because instead of introducing new trains…” is incomplete, and the opening “Although … but” uses incompatible linking structures. These errors sometimes make sentences harder to process. Practise agreement, articles, and complete clause structures, then check each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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