Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-02

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)

Nowadays, many countries are spending a lots of money on their transport system. Some people think that government should build new railway line for the fast trains between cities, while others believe that existing public transport should be improved. In my opinion, improving current transport should be the first priority, although high speed trains can also be useful.

On the one hand, high speed trains have several advantages. Firstly, they can greatly reduce travel time between cities. People can travel for work, education or business much more quickly. Secondly, fast train has carry many passengers at the same time. As a result fewer people may use private cars, which can reduce traffic jams and air pollution. For example, if a person can travel to another city by train in one hour instead of driving for three hours, the train may be a better choice.

On the other hand, there are improving existing public transports are also a good reason. In many cities buses and local trains are often crowded, old and unreliable. Improving these services would make daily travel easier for a large number of people. It could also be cheaper than building completely new railway lines. For instance, governments could buy new buses, repair old trains and improve bus routes.

In conclusion, both high speed train and better public transport can provide important benefits. However, I believe that governments should improve existing transport first, because it can help more people in their daily lives and easy to reach one to another city. After that they can spend money on high speed railway projects. For the betterments of the those people who traveled a local train and did not reach their destination on time. In my perspective, both projects are important in nowadays world. Its helps more needy people who have not any private car or bike.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both viewpoints and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of high-speed trains for reducing travel time and the practical advantages of improving existing infrastructure. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding the cost-effectiveness of improving existing transport is mentioned but not fully explored with specific evidence. The conclusion is slightly repetitive and contains some grammatical confusion, which weakens the overall impact of the position. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is fully extended with more detailed reasoning or specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the benefits of high-speed trains to the advantages of local transport improvements. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'On the one hand', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the sentence 'For the betterments of the those people...' lacks a clear connection to the preceding text. Overall, the structure is coherent, but the flow between sentences could be more natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at using topic-specific vocabulary like 'infrastructure' or 'public transport services', but the range is somewhat limited. Some word choices are imprecise or repetitive, such as 'betterments' and 'fast train has carry'. There are also minor errors in collocation, such as 'in nowadays world'. To improve, the student should focus on using a wider range of less common lexical items and ensuring that word forms are used correctly in context.

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 subject-verb agreement ('fast train has carry'), article usage ('a lots of money'), and sentence fragments ('For the betterments of the those people...'). These errors are noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to demonstrate better control over complex structures and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips, particularly regarding pluralization and verb tense consistency.

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