Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-19
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)
while some people believe governments should spend money on new railway lines others think that they should spend it on existing public transport. Spending money on railways will help the people travel faster between cities and in a comfortable way, in comparison, spending money on public transport will make the traffic less inside the city. I believe that governments should spend money on both.
On one hand, when governments spend money on railways this will help the citizens because spending money on new railways will make the train go to variety of places and of course cheaper and faster than other options like airplanes. For example , a man that has to travel for a special occasion that will start within hours if he chooses to fly this might take a long time to process and will be expensive while the trains will only need your id to book it and will be much cheaper than airplanes.
On the other hand, governments should also spend money to upgrade the public transportation because upgrading it will encourage the citizens and tourists to use buses and metros instead of renting or buying a car not only will benefit the citizens but also the government itself because this will reduce the traffic jam inside the cities. For example, a woman wants to go to a specific area but she is a tourist, instead of renting a car and get lost in the street she can ask the bus driver whether he is going to this place or not, if yes she enters the bus.
In conclusion, governments should spend on both of them because this will help not only the travelers but also the citizens.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The examples provided, such as the 'man traveling for a special occasion' or the 'tourist getting lost,' are anecdotal and lack the depth expected for an Academic Task 2 essay. While the position is clear, the arguments could be more sophisticated and better supported with broader societal or economic reasoning rather than individual scenarios. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical. For instance, the transition between the idea of traffic reduction and the example of the tourist is abrupt. Additionally, the use of referencing is occasionally repetitive, and some sentences feel disconnected due to a lack of varied linking words or sophisticated cohesive structures.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. The student relies on basic terms like 'spend money,' 'go to,' and 'get lost.' There is an attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'public transportation' and 'traffic jam,' but the overall lexical choice remains somewhat simplistic. There are no significant spelling errors, but the lack of collocations and more academic phrasing prevents the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, the student should incorporate more precise terminology related to urban planning and infrastructure.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the traffic,' 'a man,' 'the bus'), prepositions, and sentence construction. For example, 'a man that has to travel... if he chooses to fly this might take a long time' is a run-on sentence with awkward phrasing. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas (e.g., 'For example ,'). While the errors do not impede overall communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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