Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-02

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)

In many countries, some people argue that it is important to spend large amount of currency on bulding new railway lines beacuse of the fast travelling between cities. Other believe that currency should be spent on upgrading present public transport. This assay will discuss both views and explain why i believe investing in present public transport is so much better.

To begin with, railway lines are give faster travel between different cities and save travelling time. High-speed trains can reduce travel time between major cities. As a result, individuals can reach their destination quickly in any kind of emergency such as for work, education and business. For example, students may easily reach their exam-center in the fast trains. In addition, another benefit of building fast railway lines is that they can economy growth and create opportunities for employments. Constructing new railway lines requires many workers, engineers and varoius professions. As a result, it can do positive impact on our economy system.

On the other hand, many peoples depans on the public transport. Daily commuters need better services. Improving in public transport can make travel better. Many youngsters use buses, local trains and metro systems every-day. Upgrading these transport can make travel convenient and safe. Therefore, government should spent money on reconstruct bus-stations, cleaner vehicles and frequent services. Moreover, publis transport more effortable for the public. Not evryone can afford a private transport or expensive high-speed train tickets. Affortable buses, trains and metro services allow people to travel at a low cost.

In my opinion, Government have to spend money on the upgrading public transport facilities. For easy and convenient travel can give people safer travel.

In conclusion, although railway lines are give faster travel and people can reach their destination in quick way. I believe that public transport more convenient for people beacuse of they are afordable and better upgrading give to people easy travel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the construction of high-speed railway lines and the improvement of existing public transport, while also providing a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed, placing the response at this band level. For example, the argument that new lines create employment is introduced briefly with a list of workers and engineers, but it is not fully extended or supported with convincing explanations. Similarly, the discussion on public transport touches on relevant points like affordability and safety, but the explanations are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. To reach a higher level, the ideas need to be more fully elaborated with more robust supporting arguments and specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different facets of the prompt, such as high-speed trains versus public transport and the writer's personal view. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Transitional phrases like 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are utilized, but referencing and logical progression within paragraphs can be unclear. For instance, the transition between sentences discussing student exam centers and economic growth feels abrupt. Improving the flexibility and natural flow of cohesive devices would elevate the organizational quality of the writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic message of the essay. There are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include 'bulding' instead of building, 'beacuse' instead of because, 'assay' instead of essay, 'employments' instead of employment, 'depans' instead of depend, 'spent' instead of spend, and 'effortable' or 'affortable' instead of affordable. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary items such as 'commuters', 'convenient', and 'infrastructure', inaccurate word formation restricts the lexical score. To progress, the writer needs to expand their control of spelling, collocations, and word forms to ensure precision and clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside frequent attempts at complex forms that often contain errors. There are frequent grammatical issues concerning subject-verb agreement, verb forms, articles, and prepositions within grammatical patterns. Examples of errors include 'railway lines are give faster travel', 'Government have to spend money', 'Upgrading these transport can make travel convenient', and 'for easy and convenient travel can give people safer travel.' Furthermore, punctuation and sentence boundaries are occasionally mishandled, such as sentence fragments in the concluding sections. Reducing these frequent errors and employing a wider variety of error-free complex structures would significantly enhance the grammatical score.

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