Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-04

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 country where public transportation play an significant role for public, however people think it is important to spend huge amount of money on constructing new railway lines for very fast trains between cities. But other believe that money should be spent on improving on existing public transport.

On the one hand, working on making new route of railways is important for people living in new area. As it can help in investing in new route and many people can get advantages of this route. It can be more convenient, time consuming, reliable and cheap for people whole daily transport to another city. This can reduce traffic congestion as several people will use trains. The direct fast speed of train can help to to reach your destination more easily and at intended time.

On the other hand, maintaining and upgrading in facility of existing public transport is equally important for government. For example, adding air-conditioner in buses can provide peaceful ride for public. This large amount of can can help in facility like having clean and spacious seats. There should be proper roads and track which is accident prone. There should be online website for buying tickets, tracking and getting information about any transport which is more reliable and flexible for people.

In conclusion, the large amount of money should spend of making new railways track which can be useful for long distance travel people, however I believe government should first focus on maintaining and adding new facility like technology, time consuming, reliable and flexible for people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument for high-speed rail mentions 'investing in new routes' but lacks specific examples or deeper analysis of the economic or social impact. Similarly, the points regarding existing transport are somewhat repetitive. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed explanations or specific real-world examples. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments need more depth to fully satisfy the requirements of a Band 7 or higher.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' to signal shifts in the argument. However, some transitions are mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'This large amount of can can help'. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, which makes some sentences feel disjointed. Improving the variety of cohesive devices and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on somewhat repetitive phrasing, such as 'large amount of money' and 'public transport'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'time consuming' used to describe a benefit (when it is actually a negative attribute) and 'accident prone' used to describe roads that need maintenance. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring that your word choices accurately reflect the intended meaning in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include missing articles ('In country where...'), subject-verb agreement ('transportation play'), and awkward phrasing ('the large amount of money should spend of making'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels forced or grammatically incomplete. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence patterns, ensuring correct verb forms, and proofreading for common errors like missing prepositions or incorrect word order.

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

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