Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-17
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 many countries some people think that it is necessary to spend large number of the money on the construction new railway lines for very fast trains between the cities,while other believe that the money should be spent on the improving public transport.
The people who think that money should be spent on the construction of the new railway lines in the city is a better option because it will help the people to travel from one city to the other city in a efficient time. It will help the people to save their time and the money as well because sometime people have to pay the money to travel from one city to the other city by the mean of airway. So time and money can be saved the this way of spending the money. while on the other hand some people think that the money must be spend on improving the public transport because now a days people are using their own transport rather then the public because of the poor environment in the public transport. There is no proper culture provided in the public transport system and people are shifting to the private one which is increasing the noise and the air pollution day by day so the money can be utilized on improving the conditions of the public transport like AC which is not provided in most of the buses.
In conclusions, spending money on the railway lines saves time and the cost which travel to a big city but i also believe that spending money on the public transport will help to reduce the use of the personal transport.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both views and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is limited. The arguments for high-speed rail and public transport are somewhat repetitive and lack specific examples or depth. For instance, the mention of 'airway' travel is vague, and the discussion on public transport focuses heavily on air conditioning rather than broader infrastructure benefits. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the economic or environmental implications of both options with more sophisticated reasoning and concrete illustrations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into three paragraphs, which is a minimal structure. While there is a logical progression, the use of cohesive devices is mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'The people who think that' and 'some people think that' are used frequently, which makes the flow feel somewhat stilted. Additionally, the transition between the two viewpoints and your own opinion in the conclusion is abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the overall coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is frequent repetition of basic words such as 'money', 'people', and 'spend'. Some collocations are unnatural, such as 'efficient time' or 'proper culture provided in the public transport system'. To improve, you should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and varied synonyms to avoid repetition. You also need to work on word choice to ensure that your expressions sound more natural and professional in an academic context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Common issues include incorrect article usage (e.g., 'the construction new railway lines'), subject-verb agreement errors, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'saves time and the cost which travel to a big city'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement and spacing. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic articles and prepositions.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.