Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-11

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)

As of current situation , transportation has become a major part of our daily life and it also have a lot of effects on economy. Most of the people think that most of the budget should be spent to construct new railway lines for future's fast trains between different cities. I think this is also today's need beceause we cannot run future's trains just like bullet train on our existing tracks as they are much older and they are unable to handle that much speed so we should spend little bit more money to construct new tracks for future's bullet trains.As the technology is getting improved day by day, people also require more faster and comfortable transportation and when we talk about other transportation categories just likes busses and vans they are unable to handle long distance travel specially when it is time specific.Due to sudden increase in population buses are unable to provide enough services so there is a need of any fast service and with a large number of seats. The only possible option is trains so we need to improve train tracks for futures comfortable transportation.

On the other hand some beople also think that money should be spent on improving existing public transport. we cannot ignore this argue as renowashion and rebuilding existing transport is a low cost way of maintaing transport and we can save a lot of money by just improving existing public transport instead of building new tracks.

At the end the conslusion is that either it is low cost option to improve existing transport but we can not meet todays general requirements of transportation by just improving existing transports but we need to construct new railway fasttracks for fifth gen. trains so that we could improve our public transportation and also travellers can save a lot of their time by travelling through fast trains.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both proposals and state a clear preference for building new railway lines, explaining that older tracks may not support faster trains and that buses may be inadequate for long-distance travel. You also recognise the opposing view as a lower-cost way to maintain transport. However, the discussion is uneven: the case for new lines receives several reasons, while the benefits of improving existing services are mentioned only briefly, without examples of what could be improved or who would benefit. The conclusion repeats your preference but does not weigh the two options in much detail. Develop the opposing argument and support both sides with a specific example, such as upgrading bus frequency or modernising existing rail infrastructure. The response meets the stated length requirement; the nine words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an opening and main discussion of new railways, a paragraph presenting the alternative, and a concluding preference. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand” and “At the end” help signal the shift between views. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several ideas are joined into long sentences, and the first paragraph moves quickly from fast trains to buses and population growth. The second view is much shorter, so the discussion feels unbalanced. Some connections are also repetitive, particularly the repeated references to improving transport and constructing tracks. Use clearer paragraph development, with one main point followed by explanation and an example, and vary linking and referencing rather than relying on repeated “so” constructions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “railway lines,” “existing tracks,” “public transport,” “population,” and “long distance travel,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “time specific” and “fifth gen. trains,” but these are not natural or precise in this context. Repetition of “future,” “transportation,” “improve,” and “fast” limits the range, while spelling errors such as “beceause,” “beople,” “renowashion,” and “conslusion” are noticeable and can distract the reader. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, use “high-speed trains” rather than “future’s fast trains,” and “upgrade existing services” rather than repeatedly saying “improve transport.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses and reasons, for example, “because we cannot run future’s trains just like bullet train on our existing tracks,” and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, the range is limited, and many sentences contain errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, or sentence boundaries. Examples include “it also have” instead of “it also has,” “people also require more faster” and the run-on transition from “bullet trains” to “As the technology…”. The conclusion also begins with an incomplete contrast: “either it is low cost option…but…”. These recurring problems sometimes make the reader work to interpret the relationships between ideas. Practise shorter, controlled sentences first, then add accurate subordinate clauses; check subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation when editing.

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