Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-03

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 4.5)

Today we are going to discuss, that in some nations people think that the money should be spent to creat new railway lines and faster trains and on the other hand sum belive that money should be spent to improve already existing railways and trains.

People who belive that the large amount of money should be spent on new inovations, new railway and trains are the people who belive in better and improved fruture and tend to move faster then other. one great example of this is japan it has state of the art railway and trains which helps a lot of their population to get to their destination a lot faster and safer.

But on the other hand their are people who belive that the existing should be improve

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is significantly under the required word count of 250 words, reaching only 130 words. Because the essay is incomplete and stops mid-sentence, it fails to address all parts of the task. The prompt asks for a discussion of both views and a personal opinion, but the second viewpoint is not developed, and the personal opinion is entirely absent. The ideas presented are very limited and lack the necessary extension and support required for a higher band score. To improve, you must complete the essay by fully developing both sides of the argument and clearly stating your own position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The essay lacks a clear structure due to its incomplete nature. While there is a basic attempt to introduce the topic and use transition phrases like 'on the other hand', the lack of paragraphing and the abrupt ending make it difficult to follow a logical progression. Cohesive devices are used in a very mechanical and repetitive way. To improve, you should plan your essay into clear paragraphs: an introduction, two body paragraphs (one for each view), and a conclusion. Ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas are linked smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive, with several spelling errors such as 'creat' instead of 'create', 'sum' instead of 'some', 'belive' instead of 'believe', 'inovations' instead of 'innovations', and 'fruture' instead of 'future'. The range of vocabulary is limited, which restricts your ability to express complex ideas about infrastructure and public policy. To improve, focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary related to transport and urban development, and pay close attention to the spelling of common words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'sum belive'), article usage (e.g., 'is japan'), and sentence structure. The range of grammatical structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple sentences. There is little evidence of complex sentence structures. To improve, practice using a variety of sentence types, including relative clauses and conditional sentences, and proofread your work carefully to correct basic errors in spelling and grammar.

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

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