Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-26

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 many countries, it is believed by a group of people, that its necessary to have a large sum of expenditure on building new railway tracks for fast trains between the cities. Some others are of the opinion that this money should be invested for the development of current public transport.

Those who feels that new railway lines should be built could have a lot of reasons. For instance, they might be thinking that building new lines can give boost to the public transport. If public transport is strong, large, expanded and fast, many people will use the service. The new technology in trains is very useful . The concept of bullet trains is such an idea that can be used by people who moves from one city to another by air. This can save them huge amount of money as well as the amount of time, in some situations, which they spend in finding the ticket and traveling to the airport.

The other group wants to improve the current system by spending money. They might think that this whole system renovation will save some money to the state. They might be afraid of the infrastructure and system to which they are use to and they find ease in using that. Some people might have some attachments with the platforms, on a lighter note, as we see in the movies.

To conclude, I am against the idea of spending more on the current system. This, for me, makes no sense. The current transport in many countries is outdated and new ways of commute is available with up to the mark facilities. So, why not install the new system and bring peace and luxury for the citizens.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both positions and state your own view clearly in the conclusion: you oppose spending more on the current system and favour installing a new one. The first view receives some relevant support, including the possibility that fast trains could replace air travel between cities and save time and money. However, the discussion of improving existing transport is much less developed: the claims about saving state money and people feeling attached to familiar infrastructure are not explained or supported with a concrete example. Your position also appears mainly at the end, and the claim that current transport is outdated is broad rather than demonstrated. Develop both sides more evenly and explain the practical benefits and drawbacks behind each argument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of discussion easy to follow, and phrases such as “For instance” and “To conclude” signal the stages of your argument. Some connections, however, are mechanical or unclear. The second paragraph moves from stronger public transport to bullet trains and then to air travel without fully explaining the links. In the paragraph on existing transport, “They might think” and “They might be afraid” repeat the same opening pattern, while the movie-platform aside interrupts the argument. Use clearer cause-and-effect links and develop each paragraph around one central reason.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “railway lines,” “public transport,” “infrastructure,” and “bullet trains,” so the subject is generally clear. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “system renovation” and “up to the mark facilities,” but some combinations are unnatural or imprecise. For example, “give boost to the public transport” and “invested for the development” do not sound idiomatic, and “large sum of expenditure” is unnecessarily awkward. “Peace and luxury” does not precisely describe the likely benefits of transport investment. Aim for accurate collocations and more specific terms, such as improved reliability, capacity, or journey times; this will make your argument clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If public transport is strong… many people will use the service” and a relative clause beginning “which they spend.” Meaning is usually understandable, but some errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction remain. For example, “Those who feels” should be “Those who feel,” and “people who moves” should be “people who move.” In “its necessary,” the contraction should be “it’s necessary”; “a large sum of expenditure” also needs a more suitable grammatical construction. The final sentence has a mismatch in “new ways of commute is available.” Review subject–verb agreement and article use, and check each sentence for a complete, correctly linked structure.

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