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)
In many countries, Few individual think it is essential to spend a large amount of money on constructing new lines of railway for very fast trains between cities. Others believe the money should be used on improving the existing public transport. Transport is very important for country, and a good tranport system can save a lot of time.
On the one hand, some people have a thought it is important to spemd money on railway lines. If government construct new railway lines, then people can travel through train and saves their time. Fast trains can more very fastly from one city to another and if any person has an emergency then, he can travel in train. For instance, If any person has a meeting to any other city and because of buzs in work, he did not see the time and now he wants to attend that meeting. Then, he can travel by train and could reachb his destination. By fast moving trains, people will also not worry about to reach in time.
On the other hand, others think the money should be spent in existing public transport. If government start to spend on public tranport, then it is the benifit for local people. they can extend the local buses and might low the prices of bus ticket. They can start new electric buses and reduces the ticket price as they can. people who can not afford the expense of transportation can travel by this. For instance, If any person wants to go back to his home from any other city and he does not have money so he can travel by whose electric buses in which if you do not have money, you can travel. Government can also does free transport for the students.
In my opinion, both people have reasonable arguments. But, I think money should be spent more on public transport. They can increase the number of buses for accessing transport easily. Although, money should also spend on new railway lines. By this, people can save their time.
To conclude, both have reasonable arguments and money should be spent on both. It can solve the problem of both people thoughts.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—building high-speed railway lines and improving existing public transport—and provides a clear personal opinion in the third and final paragraphs. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the arguments regarding high-speed rail rely heavily on a single extended example of attending a meeting, which leads to under-developed supporting points. Similarly, the points about public transport are somewhat generalized, such as the claim that electric buses can be completely free for anyone without money. While the main aspects of the prompt are covered, the reasoning could be extended with more depth and clearer real-world examples to reach a higher band level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical division into paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs representing the two views, a personal opinion paragraph, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' are used to structure the text, though some referencing and transitions are mechanical or faulty. For instance, sentences like 'If any person has a meeting to any other city and because of buzs in work, he did not see the time' lack smooth connection to the surrounding discourse. Furthermore, paragraphing in the conclusion is slightly redundant since it reiterates the opinion already stated in the previous paragraph.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, touching upon relevant themes such as transportation, infrastructure, and public services. However, there are numerous lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as 'Few individual think' instead of 'few individuals think', 'buzs in work' instead of 'busy with work', and 'low the prices' instead of 'lower the prices'. Less common vocabulary items are attempted, but inaccuracies in word formation and collocation are frequent. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using conditional clauses such as 'If government construct new railway lines, then people can travel through train'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring frequent errors in subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions. Examples include 'Few individual think', 'travel through train' instead of 'travel by train', 'Fast trains can more very fastly' instead of 'move very fast', and 'Government can also does free transport'. Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic in places. These persistent errors cause some distraction and difficulty for the reader.
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.