Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18

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)

In current societal landscape, individuals often allege that it is important to spend large amount of money on construction of new railway lines to build better connectivity between cities. However, others believe that money should spent on improvement of existing public transportation. This essay will compare both approaches and I fully agree with latter statement.

The major reason to support this statement is that it will reduce traffic on roads. In other words, adavancement in public transportation will make masses leave private vehicles due to which traffic jams can be controlled. Moreover, buses and trains can carry dozens of passanger and goods single time. For instance, in Finland people prefer to use public transports like buses because they have the best public transportation system due to which they do not need to face heavy traffic jams. Another reason is that improvement in public vehicles will help to reduce air pollution as number of running cars decreases and people prefer trains which can carry more number goods single time. Government improve promote public vehicles by providing cleaner to them.

On other hand, people believe that there should be construction of new railway lines to build better connectivity between cities and this will make journeys faster. Moreover, it will help people to experience fast travels. For instance, country like india is spending large sum of money on trains so they can carry large tons of goods every year so they can reduce pressure on trucks to carry carriers and this is also reduce traffic jams.

To sum up, I agree with latter perspective because improvement in public transports will help to reduce air pollution and traffic jams. While both sides have solid points, but argument of improving public transports was more overpowering.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—spending on new high-speed rail versus improving existing public transport—and presents a clear personal position ("I fully agree with latter statement"). The main ideas are relevant, focusing on traffic reduction, carrying capacity, and pollution. However, the development of ideas in the body paragraphs is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For example, the point about reducing air pollution is stated twice without substantial elaboration. Furthermore, minor over-generalisations and imprecise examples (such as referencing India's freight trains within a passenger rail prompt) prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised, although the body paragraphs contain mixed ideas that slightly blur the progression. Cohesive devices are employed, such as "Moreover", "For instance", and "To sum up", but some referencing is faulty or mechanical, such as "agree with latter statement" (missing the article) and "On other hand" (missing the article). The transition between ideas within paragraphs can feel disjointed. While the logical flow is generally maintained, the mechanical use of cohesive links and occasional reference errors keep this criterion at a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common items and topic-specific vocabulary, such as "connectivity", "advancement", and "public transportation". However, there are numerous noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word forms, such as "spend large amount of money" (missing plural/article), "adavancement" (spelling error), "passanger" (spelling error), "carry more number goods single time" (awkward phrasing), and "cleaner" used as a noun. These lexical errors do not impede communication, but they reflect the limitations typical of a Band 5.5 or 6.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there is a high frequency of grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ("in current societal landscape", "with latter statement", "on other hand"), preposition errors ("spent on improvement", "single time" instead of "at a time"), and subject-verb agreement issues ("Government improve promote"). While these errors rarely impede overall communication because the intended meaning can still be parsed, the frequency of basic structural inaccuracies prevents the response from reaching a Band 6.0.

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

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