Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-27

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)

It is an ongoing debate, amongst the individuals of different countries that allocating funds for establishing new railway system is very crucial for trians to travel faster between certain areas. While others argue that that we should continue with older system with slight improvement

Firstly, Constructing new railway lines in a country enables fast access to several destinations within no time . As building lines through modern inovations can improve efficiency and open the way for train to tavel fast without any hardle. for instance a job person desire to have a fast spped train so he can reach his office in time. Similarly, conveniency is another factor as traveling on outdated lanes can be frustrated and less comfortable for people, so having new lines can reduce the worry of discomfort. For instance, a patient of any disease can suffer a lot as he needs comfortable journey.

Beside this, new establishment demands lot of expenditure to came into existence, As it may cause financial burden on authorities which result in increasing text for buyers. Which can creat crisis in society people may bycott different goods. For instance, in order to build new dams lawmakers can impose text on different goods to collect money. In addition, people want their traditional transport method alive in order to keep in touch with their culture and to tell their upcoming generation what there forfothers managed to use for travelling purpose

that can produce a sense of culture loyality for the residntials

in conclusion, having fast transport system can benefit travellors to manage their matters and can also be friuthful in providing ease. while the cost required to acheive this can disturb social life in a community and can lead people think before this step.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding constructing new railway lines for fast trains versus improving existing public transport, and offers a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as mentioning efficiency, comfort, and the financial burden of new projects. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat limited and superficial. For instance, the argument regarding the financial burden leads into a somewhat disconnected point about increasing taxes and boycotting goods, and the discussion on cultural heritage is slightly underdeveloped. While the student does meet the requirements of the task, the support and extension of ideas align more closely with a Band 6 level due to this lack of full elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, separating the introduction, two body paragraphs representing different views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly,' 'Beside this,' and 'in conclusion,' though some transitions feel mechanical or awkward, like 'Beside this' and the lowercase starting letter in the conclusion. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the phrasing 'so having new lines can reduce the worry of discomfort.' Overall organisation is present, but progression and cohesion suffer from frequent structural and mechanical issues, placing this criterion at a Band 5.5, rounded to 5.0 based on the official descriptors where cohesion is sometimes inadequate or repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'expenditure,' 'financial burden,' and 'conveniency' (though misapplied). However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'trians,' 'inovations,' 'tavel,' 'hardle,' 'spped,' 'frustrated,' 'text' (used instead of 'taxes'), 'creat,' 'bycott,' 'forfothers,' 'loyality,' 'residntials,' and 'friuthful.' These errors demonstrate noticeable limitations in lexical control and spelling. Although communication is generally maintained, the frequency of errors restricts the score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent errors in sentence structure, article usage, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'allocating funds for establishing new railway system is very crucial,' 'others argue that that we should continue,' and 'can lead people think before this step.' Punctuation is also problematic, with missing capitalisation at the start of sentences and incorrect spacing around punctuation marks. The frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the grammar from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.0 the most appropriate descriptor.

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

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