Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-03

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 most of the countries, some individuals believe to spent large number of money on constructing new railway lines for easy travel between cities. Others argue that money should be spent on improving existing public transport. This essay will discuss both views before giving my opinion on spending much money on the constructing new public transport.

In both developed and developing nations, rising popullation is major concern. Most of the people prefer public transportation as the mean of travel for reaching at work place, travelling during holidays, and for other reason. The areas where there is no mean of public transport should be consider by goverment authorities. As by constructing new railway lines can help individuals to reach at their destination. In addition, it is useful to reduce pollution as not many people travel by their own vehicals. For example, connecting different part of the cities by metro in most of the metropolitean cities helps citizens to reach at their destination without worring about traffic, time and driving by own. As a result, it also help to reduce traffic congestion and owing more private vehical and converging nature by less polluting.

On the other hand, most of the existing infrastructure of public transport is not well developed and maintain. Goverment should look for taking care of already built facilites, such as maintaining tracks, cleaning station and providing reasonable price for transportation. For intance, considering india, most of the public transport like buses, trains and metros are not well maintained and stations are not cleaned regularly. Some schemes should be intiated by govement to provide better infrastructure and put some symbols and fine on such polluting at public transporation.

Taking everything into consideration, existing transport should be improved, however large number of money should be spend on constructing new public transport because of accessiblity, and convinent for people to use such facilities. Meanwhile also by reducing pollution by individuals as not to prefer their private cars.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views regarding spending money on high-speed railways versus upgrading existing public transport, and it includes the author's opinion. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on population growth and pollution mentions valid points such as reducing traffic congestion and cutting vehicle emissions, but these ideas lack sufficient explanation and concrete support. The position is stated, although the reasoning tends to be repetitive and somewhat unclear in places, such as the concluding summary which struggles to articulate a definitive stance clearly. Furthermore, 17 words copied directly from the task prompt were not counted towards the minimum length. To move higher, the writer needs to fully extend their ideas with more detailed elaboration and precise examples rather than general assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organization with a clear paragraph-by-paragraph structure that separates the introduction, the two body paragraphs discussing each viewpoint, and the conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the logical flow is frequently disrupted by mechanical or inadequate cohesive devices. For example, transitional phrases like 'In both developed and developing nations' and 'On the other hand' are attempted, but referencing within and between sentences can be imprecise, leading to disjointed transitions. Pronouns and linking expressions do not always connect ideas smoothly, and the repetition of similar concepts creates a sense of circular reasoning rather than a forward-moving argument. To achieve a higher level, the writer must ensure that ideas build logically upon one another and that cohesive devices are used more flexibly and accurately.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited in range and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'metropolitan', 'infrastructure', and 'congestion', but these attempts are often accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include phrases like 'spent large number of money', 'mean of public transport', 'vehicals', 'metropolitean', and 'convinent'. Spelling errors ('popullation', 'vehicals', 'accessiblity', 'convinent') and awkward lexical choices ('converging nature by less polluting') cause some difficulty for the reader and impede precise communication. To improve this area, the student needs to build a wider inventory of precise lexical items and pay closer attention to word formation, correct spelling, and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on basic sentence forms while attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in verb forms and tenses, subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions within grammatical patterns. Examples of structural and grammatical inaccuracies include 'believe to spent', 'should be consider by goverment', 'is not well developed and maintain', and 'large number of money should be spend'. Punctuation and word-form grammar within clauses also show frequent errors that can cause strain for the reader. To progress, the writer should focus on mastering basic clause structures, ensuring correct verb complementation, and reducing the frequency of foundational grammatical errors.

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