Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

A significant number of nations, many people argue that it is important to spend a large amount of money on developing and constructing new railways lines system. However, others think that money ought to be spent on improving public transportation. I will discuss both views before presenting my own opinion.

On the one hand, numerous people think that government should spend money on new railways lines. This is because there are several benefits of railways, it will provide cost-effective travelling. Some commutes do not have enough money for travelling , train can help them and people can save their money. Train can save people quality time and they can reach their destination at time. Consequently, that is cost-effective and time-saving method for the individuals. Furthermore, railways can reduce pollution. A clear example of this is that Japanese government is spending funds on railways line and metro because, it helps diminish contamination in their country and Even women and children can travel without stress since cars escalate chances of accidents. As a consequence, railways lines provide safe environment and flexibility.

On the other hand, a substantial number of people concern that some rural places do not have railways tracks facilities. Therefore, they rely on public transport so government should spend money on buses and taxis. For instance, Pakistani governing bodies more attention-pay on existing transportation. They believe that it is affordable because they do not need to spend millions of dollars on advanced railways lines.

In conclusion, many people think railways is a good method for travelling everywhere with safety. it cannot spread pollution in the environment since new railways engine run on electricity. Conversely, government should spend existing transport, some place are not develop their are not railways lines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on public transport expenditure (high-speed railways versus existing infrastructure) and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction. The ideas presented, such as cost-effectiveness, time-saving benefits, pollution reduction, and the needs of rural areas, are relevant to the prompt. However, some arguments are underdeveloped or repetitive. For instance, the discussion on Japanese transport mentions pollution reduction and safety for women and children in a slightly disjointed manner. The conclusion attempts to summarize the points but introduces minor grammatical interference. Overall, the task response meets the requirements for Band 6.0 as it addresses all parts of the prompt with relevant ideas, though some expansion and logical extension could be improved.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four standard paragraphs: an introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to structure the text, though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or abrupt. Logical progression is visible, but referencing and linking within paragraphs occasionally falter, such as the sudden shift to discussing Japanese policies and women's safety in the first body paragraph. Paragraphing is handled sufficiently, but internal sentence cohesion requires tighter logical links. This performance aligns comfortably with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'cost-effective', 'contamination', and 'governing bodies'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as 'railways lines system', 'Some commutes', and 'attention-pay'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but word choice errors occasionally require the reader to interpret the intended meaning. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main arguments, the frequent minor inaccuracies in word formation and collocation prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Therefore, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or relative clauses. However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'some place are not develop', missing articles, punctuation slips, and awkward clause integration such as 'train can help them and people can save their money.' While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they recur across the essay and restrict the control of complex structures. The majority of sentences are not error-free, placing this performance firmly at Band 5.5.

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