Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-16

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 I would like to talk about railway lines and public transport.Spend large sum of money on constructing new railway lines or public transport.

Some people think it is necessary to spend large sum of money on constructing new railway lines for very fast trains between cities and some people think it is necessary to spend large sum of money on Improving public transport.

In my opinion spend large sum of money on public transport is most important then railway lines.Because public transport is more use then railway lines.Everyday city to city people gone for work for their duties and students for studies.Railway lines is not much important because they are also in better condition.Every passengers have their seats window everything's but we want to clean daily every single box of railway lines and take care of them and railway lines also have much speed and better price ticket.But public transport is not in good condition because of bad roads and not of take care and much rent because of petrol.

For Example: If the government take actions on clean roads and petrol price so we have chance to travel city to city fast and in low price.

But now the government take action on public transport.Before they take facilities only big cities but now they take facilities also small cities.

For example:Before green bus,Orange trains and etc start only in Lahore Islamabad and like big cities but now recently the government start green but bus on small cities and also start the project of Orange trains in small cities.

So now I think after this projects the public travel city to city very easy and in low price.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding fast trains and improving existing public transport, and the writer provides a clear opinion in favor of improving public transport. However, the ideas are underdeveloped and lack sufficient supporting evidence or logical elaboration. For instance, the argument that 'public transport is more use then railway lines' is supported by simple generalizations about daily commuters rather than in-depth discussion. Furthermore, some points, such as the claims about the current condition of trains, are confusing or unclear. Because the ideas are presented in a repetitive and limited manner without full extension, this performance aligns closely with the Band 5 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The essay displays some organization with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, and the writer attempts to signal examples using phrases like 'For Example:'. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the paragraphing is fragmented with very short, isolated paragraphs. Cohesive devices are frequently inadequate, inaccurate, or repetitive, such as the overuse of 'and' and repetitive sentence structures starting with 'before' or 'now'. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to follow the logical flow between sentences. These features place the text firmly at Band 4.0, bordering on Band 5.0 due to the recognizable overall arrangement.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on everyday terms such as 'big cities', 'small cities', 'good condition', and 'spend large sum of money'. There are numerous word choice and word formation errors, such as 'spend large sum of money' instead of spending large sums of money, 'more use' instead of more useful, and 'every passengers have' showing agreement errors. Less common lexical items are rarely attempted, and spelling or phrasing errors occasionally strain the reader's understanding. This demonstrates a limited, minimally adequate range characteristic of Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The writer uses a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent basic errors. Attempts at more complex structures are often faulty or incomplete, as seen in sentences like 'If the government take actions on clean roads and petrol price so we have chance to travel city to city fast'. There are persistent errors in verb tenses, subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the government start', 'every passengers have'), prepositions, and article usage. These frequent errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from reaching a higher band, fitting the Band 4 descriptors well.

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

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