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 the Active time, its compulsory to spend more money on the construction of new railway lines to travel fast between cities and save time. Some people think working on the existing public transport infrastructure is aso important alongside building new fast trains. what thought is imporvement of existsing public transport is more important.

If the current Infrastructure of a city is more good and imporved then, its become more easy and convenient for a lot of purposes like education and work. In Urban areas poeple have to travel alot from different side of the city and a inefficient public trasnport infrastructere cost them a lot of time, which can be saved. One of my university fellow travelled 3 hours on daily basics to reach at the institute, due to the unavailability of public trasnport is some city areas. So a good transport insfrastructure could save mch time of work and student class.

That does not mean, their is no need to build or spend more money on the fast railway train systems between cities. Its helpfull for a lot of people travel alot between cities. There is a large amount of popultion which travelled to major cities for the purpose of education and work, so fast trains save alot of thier time.

A good amount of money should be spen don fast traisn but first the existing public infrastructure needs to be efficient

All in one, the current public transport needs to be improved, so its easy for the incity travellers to relocate. The Fous on fast traisn is needs ot be done whe the existing if good

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both options and give a preference for improving existing transport first, while acknowledging that fast intercity trains are useful. The example of a university fellow’s long commute supports the local-transport argument. However, the position is not consistently clear: the opening says spending on new lines is “compulsory,” whereas the conclusion prioritises existing infrastructure. The discussion of high-speed rail is also brief and largely asserts that it saves time, without explaining its wider benefits or limitations. The final sentence is difficult to interpret, so it does not clearly reinforce your view. State your position consistently from the introduction and develop each side with a reason and a specific explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with separate paragraphs for the introduction, the case for improving local transport, the case for fast trains, and a conclusion. This helps readers identify the main topics. However, progression is uneven: the opening contains several unclear statements, and the final paragraph repeats the preference for existing transport without resolving the earlier claim that new lines are compulsory. Linking is limited, with “That does not mean” doing much of the work of connecting the two arguments. Some references, such as “its” and “the Fous,” are unclear, and the last sentence is hard to follow. Use clearer topic sentences and transitions, and make each paragraph build logically toward the same conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant transport vocabulary, including “public transport infrastructure,” “railway train systems,” and “urban areas,” and the commute example gives the discussion an appropriate context. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts difficult to understand, such as “imporvement,” “trasnport,” “popultion,” and “incity travellers.” Some combinations are also unnatural, including “travel fast between cities,” “daily basics,” and “a good transport infrastructure.” Repetition of “a lot” and “time” further limits precision. Build a more accurate set of topic-specific expressions and check spelling carefully; choosing precise collocations will make your ideas clearer and more formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, for example the sentence explaining that inefficient transport costs commuters time and the sentence beginning “There is a large amount of population.” However, complex attempts are often faulty, and frequent errors can make meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “its become more easy,” “One of my university fellow travelled,” and “A good amount of money should be spen,” which show problems with agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction. The opening and final sentence also contain incomplete or confusing structures. Practise building accurate subject–verb patterns and use a full stop to separate complete ideas. A smaller number of well-controlled complex sentences would improve clarity.

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