Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-25
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)
Among various countries, certain individuals argue that it is important to spend huge amount of money on developing new railway lines for fast trains between cities, while others believe the money should be spent on enhancing existing public transport. New lines for faster trains between cities will improve the public attitude towards government, however this should only be done after improving existing public transport.
New railway lines will provide fast traveling which will reduce waiting time for travelers and reduce overcrowding issue in each train. This will make traveling a cormfortable and reliable experience, especially at major events. That said, If public will get cormfortable with their travel they will have more positive attitude toward the goverment initative. For instance, a person who wants to reach to his family at EID festival but has only few days for vacations, he can not afford the delay of trains or arriving late, for him every saved hour is countable.
Traffic issue is increasing within the city, along with unfair fares that the public have to deal with just becuase they have less options. That is because, the transport situation is a mess inside the city,talking about pakistan, which is litteraly bad for mental and physical health. imporving existing public transport is important because people need to go to their offices,schools and colleges daily. If they will arrive tired and anxious with their mind all over the place how will the country prosper?. For example, a university student arrived late for his exam because there are few buses and they stop at every point becuase they want board as many as possible. Improving existing public transport will solve that by launching new buses and maintaing new ones with AC's or other supporting devices.
In conclusion, I partially support that constructing new railway lines for fast trains between cities will benefit but not more than imporving the existing public transport architecture.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—constructing new railway lines and improving existing public transport—and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are generally relevant and extended, such as discussing passenger comfort, travel time, and urban traffic issues. However, some arguments tend to over-generalize and lack deeper analytical depth, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0. The student uses a specific example regarding the EID festival and a university student, which supports the main ideas effectively, though the overall development remains somewhat basic.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical paragraph structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing each view, and a conclusion. However, cohesion at times feels mechanical or faulty, as seen with transitional phrases like 'That said, If public will get cormfortable' and the slightly abrupt shift into personal anecdotes. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and paragraphing could be managed with smoother logical links between ideas. Despite these minor issues, progression is discernible throughout, making this a solid Band 6.0 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'overcrowding issue', 'architecture', and 'goverment initative'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('cormfortable', 'becuase', 'imporving', 'maintaing', 'litteraly') and occasional inappropriate word choices or word forms. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The lexical range is sufficient to convey the main arguments, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar. There are instances of complex structures, such as conditional sentences ('If public will get comfortable...') and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies, missing articles, and subject-verb agreement issues ('If they will arrive tired', 'a university student arrived late... because there are few buses'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur regularly, which is characteristic of a Band 6 score.
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