Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-06

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)

It sparked a reasonable debate that either government should spend huge amount of money to construct the new railway lines for bullet trains or spend that money to improve the already existing public transport infrastructures. In this essay i will discuss both the issues and also give my own opinion on the matter as well.

First of all it is really important determine the value for money on which is spend on building new fast railway tracks. Now a days people facing challenges in terms of time as people don't have enough time to perform their tasks so they need to move fast. For example if people can move fast between two industrial cities the economy will improve which is ultimateley beneficial for the progress of the country. Another major benefit is that fast travelling can also make people relax and they become more confident and healthy. On the other hand building such an infrastructure specially for developing countries could be very difficult in terms of finances which could become a burden on the economy.

In contrast making improvement in existing public transport is also really necessary as the technology is changing dramatically every country needs to adopt the change and make its contribution to global society. Such improvements can be changing transport vessels to the latest one for example, old transport emits more carbon in the environment can be replaced by eco friendly vehicles which will benefits the atmosphere.

By keeping in view all the aspects of both the views I have the opinion that it depends on different factor which vary from country to country depending on the resources. If a country has the resources to develop both it should definitely go for both but balance is required.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding 'fast travelling' making people 'relax' is not well-supported or logically linked to the context of high-speed rail. The discussion on existing infrastructure is also quite brief. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific examples or deeper analysis of the economic and social implications of each transport strategy rather than listing general benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'First of all' and 'In contrast' are used, but the internal flow between sentences within paragraphs is occasionally disjointed. For example, the transition between the benefits of fast trains and the financial burden on developing countries is abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows logically from the previous one would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'infrastructure', 'industrial cities', and 'eco-friendly'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor collocation errors, such as 'it sparked a reasonable debate' (which is slightly unnatural in this context) and 'the value for money on which is spend'. The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. Expanding your repertoire to include more academic collocations and topic-specific terminology would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the new railway lines'), subject-verb agreement ('people facing challenges'), and verb forms ('which is spend'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing commas in complex sentences. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining your use of complex sentence structures will help improve your score.

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

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