Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-10

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 6.0)

There is an ongoing debate about where the government should invest the budget to improve the public transport. Some individuals believe that money should spend to upgrade existing system such as increasing the frequency and repairing. Neverthe less, from my perspective, new railway system needs to be built as it will reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

On the one hand, supporters of improvement believe that the authority should enhance the number of public transport. This is will provide communters more access to buses and trains, which ultimately allow them to travel any time. Moreover, a decent amount should be spent to repair the existing transport system, which leads to better and comfortable facilities for users.

For instance, in Australia, the goverment spends a huge amount of money to repair the trams, roads and buses with the intention to provide better experience to citizens.

On the other hand, individuals argue that the authority should invest more funds to build new railway tracks. This is because more access to fast speed trains will reduce the traffic congestion towards cities. Similarly, when communters travel through trains instead of their private vehicles, pollution will also decrease. As private vehicles such as cars and motorbikes are major behind the pollution. For example, in Pakistan, the transport authority build Orange Train System, which provides faster access to city. Hence, the government introduced a decent project.

To conclude, although more trains and continuous repair improve public transport system, new fast tracks play a pivotal role in reducing traffic congestion and improving environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of traffic congestion and pollution as benefits of new railways, and the focus on accessibility and comfort for existing systems. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding Australia is quite brief and lacks specific detail on how the repairs directly impacted the citizens' experience. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand your supporting arguments with more depth and specific analysis rather than just stating the points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Moreover', and 'To conclude' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by grammatical errors, such as 'This is will provide communters'. While the overall progression is clear, the use of referencing could be more precise to ensure smoother connections between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'ongoing debate', 'traffic congestion', and 'pivotal role'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are occasionally hindered by word-choice errors or awkward collocations, such as 'major behind the pollution' (should be 'a major cause of pollution') and 'decent project'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the vocabulary lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Focusing on collocations and more sophisticated academic phrasing would significantly improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'money should spend' (should be 'money should be spent'), 'This is will provide' (should be 'This will provide'), and 'the transport authority build' (should be 'built'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, passive voice construction, and ensuring that your complex sentences are grammatically sound.

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.