Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-04

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)

in countrues governament would love to focuse on making roads railways and also trasport. Firstly, it is very important to spend a large amount of money for contracting a new railways becouse they connect two cities affairs .it is also helpful for travlling in an other city in just short time .It also helpful for export and inport process.For example ,karachi to lahore railway line is the most popular railway becouse it is help for people to move lahore to karachi and vise virsas. Secondly, improving public trasport is also very important .I really want that governament and people spend money on trasport . wo just travel comfertably when the trasport is good and in well condition ,for example, if the trasport is not in good condition and not air condition than poeple not like to travel on it like van hwo have not good tire than it is realy difficult to travel . in my opinion ,improving public transport is more important than the contracting railway lines becouse mostly people use public transport rather than the trains.becouse buplic transport is cheap than the trains tickets . the public transport should be in good condition ,people love to travel in public transport so thats why i believe money must be spend on improving public transport. For example , whenever, i go for shopping or hospital i would love on travel public transport becouse it is very easy carring and cheap for me .And it is fast and easy for me

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource4.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially, presenting both views on railway construction and public transport, along with a personal opinion. However, the ideas remain quite limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on fast trains merely mentions connecting cities and assisting with export and import processes without elaborating on economic or logistical impacts. Similarly, the opinion supporting public transport relies on very basic personal assertions, such as going shopping or to the hospital, rather than broader societal or financial arguments. While all parts of the prompt are touched upon, the lack of fully extended and supported arguments keeps the response at this level. To improve, the writer should expand each main point with clear explanations and specific real-world examples rather than relying on brief, repetitive personal anecdotes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some basic organisation, with the text divided into a loose introduction and body paragraphs that attempt to address the prompt. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the transitions between sentences often feel abrupt. Cohesive devices are used very repetitively or inaccurately; words like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'becouse' are heavily relied upon to chain clauses together rather than to guide the reader smoothly through a logical argument. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal paragraph cohesion suffers because ideas jump erratically between trains, general transport, and personal travel habits without proper linking. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to ensure logical sequencing between sentences, use a wider and more accurate variety of cohesive ties, and structure paragraphs so that each focuses on a single, well-developed central theme.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, with noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Throughout the text, basic items are repeated, and attempts at less common vocabulary result in frequent spelling mistakes or awkward collocations, such as 'contracting a new railways' instead of 'constructing new railways', 'inport' instead of 'import', and 'carring' instead of 'carrying'. Additionally, terms like 'trasport' and 'comfertably' show persistent spelling issues. To move up to a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire, learn the correct forms and spellings of academic and topic-specific vocabulary, and pay closer attention to how words combine naturally in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The writer demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences or faulty attempts at complex forms. Frequent grammatical errors are present throughout the essay, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('poeple not like'), article usage ('on travel public transport'), and prepositional patterns. Furthermore, punctuation is frequently mishandled, with missing capitals, incorrect comma splices, and erratic spacing around punctuation marks. Because complex structures are often faulty and errors occur consistently, the reader frequently has to pause to decipher the intended meaning. To improve, the writer should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring correct tense and article usage, and reducing the frequency of structural errors.

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

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