Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-14

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 some countries, a number of people think that it is essential to spend large amount of money on constructing new railway lines for very fast trains between cities. By contrast, some people believe that money should be spent on improving existing public transport. In my opinion, while improving existing public transport is necessary, construction of a new railway line can be useful as well especially for moving from one city to another city easily.

On the one side, many people may want to live in a village or semi urban area but tend to settle in the capital city for getting a better facilities such as educational institutions, hospitals, work places. If transportation become easy and available, people may start to live in the village and transport whenever they need. For instance, there are several incidents happen in our country when an emergency patient is shifted from village to city hospital for better medical treatment, the patient gets stacked in the highway road because of traffic jam and sometimes lose his or her life. Therefore, a large amount of money should be spend on making a railway line for very fast trains so that it can save people's time and they can move easily from one city to another.

On the other side, people use public transport for their daily necessities. Therefore, it is important as well to improve existing public transport so that people can transport safely. For instance, it feels very difficult to transport in non ac public buses especially during summer. So for enjoying comfortable transportation, government should spend money on improving existing public transport.

In conclusion, while improving existing public transport can make daily commuting more convenient, I believe that investing in high-speed railway lines is equally important, as it facilitates faster intercity travel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state a clear position: improving current transport matters, but high-speed rail is also valuable for intercity journeys. The discussion is relevant, and the example of a patient delayed by traffic helps explain the potential benefit of faster rail. However, the two sides are not developed equally. The case for new rail receives a specific example and explanation, while the public-transport paragraph mainly mentions uncomfortable non-air-conditioned buses and gives little detail about how broader improvements would help. To strengthen the response, explain what upgrades are needed and who would benefit, then compare these benefits more directly with those of high-speed rail. The conclusion restates your view, but the reasoning behind the balance could be clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. The contrast markers “By contrast” and “On the other side” help signal the discussion, and the examples generally follow the points they support. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. In the first body paragraph, the shift from people choosing where to live to the emergency-patient example is abrupt, and “transport whenever they need” does not clearly connect the ideas. The repeated “For instance” pattern also makes the linking somewhat mechanical. Use clearer topic sentences and explain the connection between each claim and its example; vary transitions and use pronouns or reference phrases only when their meaning is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “constructing new railway lines,” “public transport,” “daily necessities,” and “intercity travel.” Some choices are also relevant and specific, such as “educational institutions” and “medical treatment.” However, several inaccurate or unnatural expressions limit precision: “getting a better facilities,” “transport whenever they need,” “gets stacked in the highway road,” and “enjoying comfortable transportation.” The repeated use of “transport” and “people” also makes the vocabulary range feel limited. Aim for more natural collocations and a wider set of terms for commuting and travel, such as “access essential services,” “become stranded in traffic,” and “make daily journeys more comfortable.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in the introduction (“while improving existing public transport is necessary”) and a conditional structure (“If transportation become easy…”). Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect clarity. For example, “a number of people think that it is essential to spend large amount” needs “a large amount”; “If transportation become” should be “If transportation becomes”; and “a large amount of money should be spend” should be “should be spent.” The sentence beginning “there are several incidents happen” also needs restructuring. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and verb forms, and build complex sentences with a clear main clause.

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