Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-05

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)

Transportation play an important role in the economic and social growth of the country.

By building new railway lines for the faster travel between the cities helpful for the people. It saves time of students and make conveniant to for schools, colleges and universities, it also saves time of workers and business people. Better connection between the cities increase tourism and trade that helps to increase the economic growth of country.

Due to fast transportation may be people leaves there personal cars and go for public transportation. It is a long term investment for many years.

On other hand, local buses, trains and metro system use by ordinary citizen becuse it is cost effective for all. It is cheaper for government to improve existing system rather then building new system. They have reduced over crowded buses and improve there services and also improve the bus stations. Moreover, it is affordable for all people and alos for them who cannot afford their personal car.

I choose improve exiting public transportation system first. It helps large numbers of people. If government increase the numbers of public buses and trains so it will more suitable for people and safe for all. Firstly, solves the current issues in existing transport after this also go for fast trains to decreases the distance time.

Both systems have there own benefits according to the resources. Firstly, work on the existing public transportation system and then work on other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both views regarding fast trains versus improving existing public transport and presents a clear personal opinion, which places it within the mid-range descriptors. However, the length requirement is not met, as the response falls short of the two hundred and fifty-word minimum, which impacts the overall completeness of the task. Ideas such as the benefits of fast trains and the affordability of local transit are presented but remain somewhat limited and under-developed, lacking sufficient extension or concrete examples from personal knowledge or experience. The arguments tend to repeat general points without fully exploring the wider implications of investing in high-speed rail networks versus upgrading conventional public transportation systems.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some overall organization with clear paragraph divisions separating the introduction, the discussion of fast trains, the opposing view, and the conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the logical flow is occasionally disrupted by abrupt transitions and repetitive statements. Cohesive devices are used minimally and sometimes inaccurately, such as 'On other hand' instead of 'On the other hand', and referencing is occasionally unclear, making the relationships between sentences and paragraphs somewhat mechanical. While the writer attempts to guide the reader through different perspectives, the lack of sophisticated linking words and consistent progression prevents the text from achieving a higher level of cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic concepts related to transportation and economic growth. There are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form throughout the text, such as 'faster travel' instead of 'fast travel', 'conveniant to for' instead of 'convenient for', and 'exiting' instead of 'existing'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'cost effective' and 'economic growth', but these are accompanied by frequent inaccuracies in spelling and phrasing that occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the expression of more precise meanings.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and agreement. Notable examples include subject-verb agreement errors like 'Transportation play' instead of 'Transportation plays', missing articles such as 'growth of country', and incorrect prepositional usage like 'use by ordinary citizen' instead of 'are used by ordinary citizens'. These frequent errors in verb forms, plurals, and sentence construction cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control over grammatical rules.

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