Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-20
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 5.0)
In a various countries, some individuals think it is important to spend large numbers of money on establishing new railway lines for fast trains between cities. On the other hand, some think that money should be spent on public transports to enhance them. I will talk about both views and give my opinion in upcoming paragraph.
To begin with, development of new railway lines safe people time. In present day lots of individuals prefer to use trains when they going to their work or collage because it is affordable and save time. If government develop new railway lines it is become more fast which is beneficial good for individuals.
On the other hand, public transports improvement is also very imporant. There are various people's who prefer to use public buses but nowadays the conditions of public buses is not well developed like fans, seats which is impact on public buses income source. Mostly people like to bus when they want to go in markets and where trains does not go.
From my opinion, i think is very important to enhance the public transports system because there are lots of senior citizens and youngsters like to use buses when they want to go in parks and schools. Furthermore, establishment of new railway lines also make individuals life easy and save their time.
To conclude, new railway lines help people to went on their works fast and public transportation system make senior citizens and youngsters life more comfortable and it also have help them to earn high revenue.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—building new railway lines for fast trains and improving existing public transport—and provides a clear position in the body and conclusion. The ideas, however, are somewhat under-developed and lack the depth expected of higher bands. For instance, the discussion on high-speed rail touches on saving time and affordability, but the reasoning remains basic. Similarly, the points regarding public transport mention comfort and senior citizens, but the arguments are repetitive and rely on over-generalizations. To reach a higher band, the student should expand on their arguments with more specific examples and detailed explanations rather than simply listing surface-level points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay has a recognizable structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, which demonstrates a basic level of organisation. However, progression is somewhat impaired by mechanical and repetitive transitions such as "To begin with," "On the other hand," and "To conclude." Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas is occasionally disjointed, such as the blending of personal opinion and supporting details in the fourth paragraph. Furthermore, referencing is sometimes unclear, as seen with pronoun usage and abrupt shifts between sentences. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often inaccurate or overly simplistic, pulling the overall score down towards the lower-middle bands.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for discussing transport, such as "affordable," "revenue," and "transportation system." However, the lexical range is narrow, and there are frequent errors in word choice, form, and collocation, such as "large numbers of money" instead of "large sums of money," and "safe people time" instead of "saves people's time." Additionally, repetitive use of basic words like "spend," "trains," and "people" limits the variety. While communication is generally maintained despite these flaws, the numerous inaccuracies in word formation and phrasing prevent the response from achieving a higher lexical band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures are frequently marred by basic grammatical errors. Examples of structural and agreement errors include "If government develop new railway lines it is become more fast," "the conditions of public buses is not well developed," and "people to went on their works." Subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, and preposition usage are weak throughout the text. While simple sentences are occasionally accurate, errors occur with high frequency and can cause some difficulty for the reader, aligning the response closely with the Band 5 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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