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)
Nowadays, there is a big debate about spend money in develop public transport with railways or fast trains to conect differents cities and other people think is better to improve existing transport. In this essay, I shall scrutinize both opinions and own view: The Goverment should spend money to build new modes of transportation.
On the one hand, many people think that railway lines must be compulsory in all cities or big cities to conect people. The main reason is that number of countries are evident that fast trains improve of transportation and people spend less time in this. Also, many countries has been constructing new railways line because stadistic shows that it increases economic and motive people visit that cities and get more turists.
On the other hand, other argue that it is more important to invest in the existing public transport than create other news. This hypotesis is beneficial because it does not spend a lot of money to planing new routes and new lines that it is expensive for the Goverments. Also, people belive it is not necessary to spend that in constructing when they can still use the same public transpor and keep to transit in the same roads. For example, In my city, concil prefer spend money on improving buses, taxis, station that they ready have and gap holes in the streets.
In conclusion, after taking the above-stated into consideration, I am believe that trains is relevant to cities because it is helpful to all communities and conect big cities with small cities or town. The Goverment should make important decision in the public transport in the cities to think how is important to create new routes and constructing railway lines.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address both sides of the discussion and state a preference for building new transport, especially in the introduction and conclusion. The points about faster journeys, tourism and economic benefits are relevant, as is the example of improving buses and stations in your city. However, the position is not fully consistent: the opening favours new transport, while the conclusion says trains are relevant without clearly comparing them with improvements to existing services. Several claims, such as fast trains increasing tourism, are asserted rather than explained or supported. Develop each side with a clearer reason and a specific consequence, then make your own choice explicit and maintain it throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. Overall, the ideas are arranged coherently, but connections within paragraphs are sometimes mechanical or unclear. For example, “Also” introduces several points without showing how they relate, and “keep to transit in the same roads” does not clearly explain the argument for retaining current transport. The conclusion repeats the preference for trains but does not clearly resolve the comparison. Use clearer links between claim, explanation and example, and make references such as “this” or “that” more precise.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “railway lines,” “public transport,” “routes,” and “economic,” so the reader can understand the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make parts of the response difficult to interpret. Examples include “spend money in develop,” “improve of transportation,” “motive people,” and “gap holes.” Some forms are also inaccurate, such as “differents” and “turists.” Aim for more precise transport and policy vocabulary, and check common collocations and spelling. Replacing vague phrases with expressions such as “reduce journey times” or “upgrade existing services” would make your arguments clearer and more natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including explanations introduced by “because” and a relative clause in “routes and new lines that it is expensive.” However, complex sentences are often not controlled, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction occur throughout. For instance, “other people think is better” is missing a subject, “many countries has been constructing” has incorrect agreement, and “I am believe” uses an incorrect verb pattern. The opening also joins the essay’s position to the preceding sentence with a colon in a way that is not grammatically clear. Practise building accurate subject–verb sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check agreement and verb patterns.
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