Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12
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)
It is often argued in many nations that money should be spent on building up new railway tracks, other believes that existing public transport must be renovate, both sounds great as public transport affect the daily lifestyle and infrastructure of a country, this essay will elaborate both ideas with suitable reasons from my own experience or knowledge.
On the one hand, some individuals have a thought of constructing fresh railway lines for very speedy trains between cities is a good reason to spend money on, this can play an crucial role in decreasing the human traffic, people can now have couple of options to travel. This can also improve the impression of a country internationally, people worldwide could be impress by this decision and could plan to travel to that nation, this can give more profit to the tourism department. For instance, if people didn't feel headache travelling in a country they would definitely recommend others.
On the other hand, some believes that money should be spent on improving existing public transport, this could also be beneficial as by improving department infrastructure citizens may not face hurdles in checking in trains or other transports, If the railway lines would renovate there could be great decrease in accidents, like the train fell off from the track etc. Improving seats of the buses and trains , maintenance of the vehicles should be on time can improve public comfort. For example, If a person experience good travel he may have a fresh mood and can serve to his work more dedication.
Overall, both ideas have some merits, in my opinion serving more on improving existing public transport can improve in saving people valuable time, so they can perform well in daily life duties which may help in improving their lifestyle.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both views regarding high-speed rail versus improving existing public transport and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial. For example, the arguments about reducing human traffic and international tourism are introduced but not fully extended with concrete explanation or deeper analysis. Similarly, the points on upgrading existing transport touch on safety and comfort, yet lack deeper elaboration. While the prompt is addressed and a position is maintained throughout, the reasoning tends to be generalised rather than thoroughly explored, fitting the criteria for Band 6.0 where relevant ideas are presented but some are under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing each viewpoint, and a distinct concluding opinion. However, the cohesion within sentences and paragraphs is frequently faulty, often relying on comma splices rather than proper conjunctions or full stops (e.g., 'other believes that existing public transport must be renovate, both sounds great as public transport affect...'). Paragraphing is present, but internal logical progression is occasionally disrupted by run-on sentences and weak referencing. Cohesive devices are either repetitive or mechanically applied, placing this text firmly in Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student displays an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts relating to transport and infrastructure. Words such as 'infrastructure', 'international', and 'recommend' are used appropriately. However, there are notable limitations and frequent inaccuracies in word choice, morphology, and collocation, such as 'human traffic' instead of 'traffic congestion', 'renovate' instead of 'renovated', and 'fresh mood' instead of 'refreshed state of mind'. Furthermore, spelling errors like 'crucial' versus 'an crucial' and incorrect verb forms appear. Because the vocabulary range is minimally adequate and errors do not severely impede overall communication, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., 'if people didn't feel headache travelling...'). However, control over grammar and punctuation is weak, dominated by run-on sentences and comma splices that fail to separate distinct clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors in subject-verb agreement ('other believes', 'the train fell off') and tense consistency. While some sentences are error-free, the high frequency of structural slips and punctuation errors occasionally causes difficulty for the reader, aligning with the Band 5.0 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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