Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-23

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)

The most significant means of transportation is public transport. Both the trains and others sources are included in this perspective. However, each of these provide two different facilities as one is for the inter-city and the other is for town to another town. As per my opinion, betterment in the public transport is more necessary as compared to the development of new railway line.

Railway contributes a major portion in economy and trade. Most of the goods are transport through this source. Not just the business it is also far more necessary for public. Governments in each state have a separate ministry for this. Besides this, there is specific budget for development in infrastructure of railway. The purpose is to connect the country with each other by fast mode of transportation.

On the other hand, public transport had great importance in the developed country. It is the necessity of a common man. As food, cloth and shelter, cheap transportation is also the right of people. States should have to more focus in the improvement of public buses and other means of this. For example. if a person is travelling for his job to one corner of city to another, own vehicle will cost heavy to him and is time demanding. However, public transport like underground orange line train or red metro buses will be cheaper because it is subsidize by the government and have a specific route will not been disturbed by the normal traffic.

Overall, the convenience of people is for more important for state as compared to other tasks. If the residents of any country will not satisfied by the services of state then the trade will disturbed. Hence, the focus on improvement in public transport is weigh more important then the construction on new railway lines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall preference for improving public transport, especially in the opening and conclusion, and you include relevant points about affordability and commuting within cities. However, the two views are not discussed with equal clarity. The paragraph about railways focuses mainly on freight, trade, and government budgets, rather than explaining the case for very fast passenger trains connecting cities. The public-transport argument is more developed through the example of a city commute, but the comparison between the two investments remains limited. To strengthen the response, explain specific benefits of inter-city high-speed rail, then weigh these against improvements to existing local services and support your preference with a more direct comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two transport options, and a concluding opinion. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand,” “For example,” and “Overall” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the railway paragraph moves from freight to public need, ministries, budgets, and national connectivity without showing how each point supports the case for high-speed passenger lines. Some connections are also awkward or repetitive, and the example’s explanation becomes difficult to follow. Organise each body paragraph around one main claim, develop it with a reason and example, and use clearer references to connect sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “infrastructure,” “inter-city,” “public transport,” and “specific route,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “the convenience of people.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the intended meaning less clear: “goods are transport,” “development in infrastructure,” and “the trade will disturbed” are examples. “Both the trains and others sources” is also imprecise. Build accuracy with common transport collocations and check word forms and spelling. More precise terms for passenger rail, local services, and investment would help you express the comparison without relying on broad or awkward phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional example about commuting and a contrast introduced by “However.” Nevertheless, errors occur frequently across sentence structures, verb forms, agreement, articles, and punctuation, and some sentences are difficult to interpret. For instance, “each of these provide” has an agreement problem, while “If the residents of any country will not satisfied” has an incorrect conditional construction and missing verb form. The sentence beginning “However, public transport like underground orange line train…” also lacks a clear grammatical structure. Practise accurate basic clauses first, then build longer sentences with controlled subordinate clauses. Review subject–verb agreement, articles, and conditional forms, and use full stops to separate complete ideas.

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