Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-21

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 countries and cities which are fully developed I think they should soend large money in constructing railway lines for very fast trains as the their city is developed already so there is no need to spend such large amount on public transport. But in cities where there is need of public transport and are in developing stage the government should spend a large amount of money in improving public transport.

As the people living in developed cities, they have every facility to their needs and improved public transport that's why there is no need to spent money there where as it should instead get an eye on how they could improve the transport to other cities as their city is developed already. Government should construct new railway lines and should also get facilities of people where they need so transportion accros cities could be improvised.

In the other hand those people who believe that the money should be spent on improving public transport, as they have neccessary need to full fill their transportation facilities and therefore it shows that the city is not developed fully. So, government should spend more in building new bus for transportiation and having other facilities for every category of people so everybody could afford it as per their need and poverty score.

I also live in a developing city where public transport should be improvised and therefore government is introducing metro in my city as transportation could be easy in wide range of people in affordavble rates. when the city is developed fully it is capable to think for it connections to other cities as its own city is developed.

In example, many people walks to their office due to the buses are less and crowd is more. So, in conclusion the developed city should be focused on building railway lines where as the developing cities should be focusing on improvising public transport.

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 task. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the argument regarding developed cities is stated multiple times without adding new supporting evidence or nuance. The distinction between 'developed' and 'developing' cities is a relevant approach, but the explanation remains superficial. To improve, you should focus on providing more specific, concrete examples or logical consequences for each viewpoint rather than restating the same general points in different paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is often hindered by repetitive phrasing and awkward transitions. While you use some cohesive devices like 'In the other hand' (which should be 'On the other hand') and 'In conclusion', the links between sentences are sometimes mechanical or unclear. Referencing is occasionally confusing, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between 'developed cities' and 'transportation across cities' is not clearly articulated. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a distinct, clear focus would significantly enhance the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The range of vocabulary is limited and often repetitive. You frequently use basic terms like 'spend', 'money', 'developed', and 'transport'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'get an eye on', 'improvised' (when you mean 'improved'), and 'poverty score'. These errors occasionally make the meaning slightly unclear. To reach a higher band, you need to demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary, including less common lexical items and more precise collocations related to urban planning and infrastructure, while ensuring that words are used in their correct 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 throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'many people walks'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'as transportation could be easy in wide range of people'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. Focusing on basic sentence accuracy and proofreading for common errors like pluralisation and verb forms would be a beneficial next step.

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

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