Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-30

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 recent years, due to major developments in technology the number of ways for travelling has rapidly increased. In multiple countries, a few people belive that it is essential to spend huge amount of money on buliding new railway tracks for fast travel between different cities. Others argue that more money should be invested on improving the local public transport like buses and metros.

Trains are being considered one of the most convinient mode of travel for long distance journeys. Unlike other travelling vehicles, washrooms and area to walk freely is available in trains. Trains usually do not stop after covering a few miles distance like buses and in this way the destination is reached in reletively shorter period of time. The public transport vehicles with a large size causes alot of problems for other vehicles on road. For instance, huge buses are usually slow which result in major traffic jams on road.

Public transports are more helpful in keeping the enviroment safe as they do not run on traditional coal powered engines and do not emit alot of smoke in air. Moreover, a wide range of area is required for constructing the railway path while on the other side, buses can easily be moved on already existing roads. In terms of total expense, public transport is far cheeper to be maintained as compared to the trains requiring a number of civil engineers and a huge investment for buliding the railway tracks.

In my opinion, instead of spending money in constructing new railway lines, the existing public transport should be improved as it will more economical and do not require alot of civil work.

In conclusion, trains are quite beneficial for a long distance journey and the public transport on the other hand is far better than buliding new railway tracks in terms of spending less.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—constructing new railway lines and improving existing public transport—while clearly stating a personal opinion in favour of the latter. However, the development of ideas lacks depth and contains some confusion. For example, the second and third paragraphs conflate the benefits of trains and general public transport slightly, and the argument about buses causing traffic jams versus railways requiring vast land is somewhat generalised. The position is maintained throughout, but some supporting arguments are underdeveloped or repetitive. This places the response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is coherent overall with a clear progression of ideas from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the prompt. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as 'Moreover', 'In terms of', and 'In conclusion'. Referencing is generally clear, though transitional links between sentences could be smoother to enhance the flow of argumentation. This performance aligns well with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'convinient', 'infrastructure-related concepts', and 'reletively'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('belive', 'buliding', 'convinient', 'reletively', 'enviroment', 'cheeper') and occasional word choice inaccuracies. The lexical control is inconsistent, but the meaning remains clear throughout the response, which is characteristic of Band 5.5 or 6.0. Given the frequency of basic spelling slips, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Unlike other travelling vehicles, washrooms and area to walk freely is available in trains.' There are several grammatical and mechanical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('washrooms and area... is available', 'public transport... do not require') and prepositions. While these errors occur frequently, they rarely impede communication. The control of grammar corresponds to the Band 6 descriptor.

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

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