Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-26

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 6.5)

Nowadays, technology is improving faster than we think. Similar situation is faced by many countries that they have to choose between upgrading the current railway lines or build the new ones. In my opinion, a country cannot abandon all the running trains. Rather, they should improve the current trains. However, the old tracks that are totally incompatible with the latest fast train's they can be either trashed or completely recycled.

Furthermore, a city always need more number of means of public transport. The better the public transport is, the lesser public will use their private vehicles. The railway lines which are old enough to be upgraded to advanced systems should be removed and the new railway lines for the fast trains should be constructed to adapt to new innovation and technologies. This not only saves time but lesser private vehicle reduces the overall pollution in the eco-system.

Anyhow, it can be debated that improving the existing railway lines can be much more cost efficient. Not the entire system needs to be rebuilt, only few parts are either added or replaced with the newer ones. In addition to this, improving the current railway lines are also less time consuming. As it does not need an entire construction, it takes lesser time to upgrade and renovate the existing tracks. Hence, improvement is faster and cost effective compared to constructing from scratch.

In my opinion, building more train tracks are always beneficial. However, it should be completely the governments decision according to the need of the time. If there are railway lines that can be upgraded it should not be trashed. Those lines should also be improved. To conclude, more lines are always in favor of common public but the old or the current ones should not be trashed until it is completely non-compatible to the new advancements.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the argument regarding cost-efficiency is mentioned in the third paragraph but is not fully supported with specific examples or a clear explanation of why high-speed rail might be more expensive or beneficial in the long run. The position is generally clear, but the conclusion introduces a slightly contradictory point about not trashing old lines, which could have been integrated more smoothly into the main body paragraphs. Overall, the response covers all parts of the task but would benefit from more detailed analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, each with a central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'However', and 'In addition to this' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel forced. For example, the shift between the second and third paragraphs is abrupt. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'Similar situation is faced by many countries', where the antecedent is missing. While the overall structure is logical, the flow between sentences could be more natural to reach a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'incompatible', 'innovation', and 'cost-efficient'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'lesser public' instead of 'fewer people' and 'trashed' which is too informal for an academic essay. The repetition of basic terms like 'railway lines' and 'improve' limits the range. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic collocations and avoiding informal phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'a city always need' (subject-verb agreement), 'fast train's' (incorrect apostrophe), and 'it should be completely the governments decision' (missing possessive apostrophe). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The control over punctuation is inconsistent, particularly with apostrophes. Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring accuracy in basic subject-verb agreement would significantly enhance the quality of the writing.

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