Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-29

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, few individuals observe that it is essential to invest huge amount of cash on developing of new railway lines for very fast trains in cities while others think the money should be spent on making improvements in the existing public vehicles.

I believe that, the money should be spend on the railway lines because they are very fast in arrival. Nowadays, people facing a lot challenges when they travel from one city to another city. Moreever, people are disturbed by waiing for a long time when the bus arrived at the staion to the space already filled with pessangers because of this there alot of time waste and they can not reached to their destinations on time. For Example, In my area there is a bus which we used for tarvelling, fristly it never comes on time secondly if it comes so no seats are left for the other pessangers this makes frustated to all the people who stands in waiting of station with.

On the hand, if the governments spends alot of money on the manufacturing of existing public transports will not be advantagous as much as the railways. Because people wants to reached their destinations on time for this purpose they needs the fastest service of railways. There is one more reason also buses travel on roads and more chances of accidents while for the railways there are special tracks that used by only trains others vehicles are not allowed there. For Example, me and my colleagues conducted a survey in University and what we have noticed that the people who used trains arrived on time where as people who used buses arrived late because a lot rush in the cities.

To conclude, tains are necessary for the fast service . In my opinion, vehicles like trains are more useful than others so the government should invest on train manufacturing projects to make travel easy for public.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear preference for investing in fast railways, and you provide relevant reasons, including faster journeys and dedicated tracks that may reduce conflict with road traffic. The examples about the unreliable, crowded bus and your university survey help illustrate your view. However, the discussion of the opposing position is not fully addressed: you mention improving existing transport, but mainly explain why you think this is less beneficial rather than developing why supporters value it, such as improving access or reliability for more passengers. Some claims, including that railways are necessarily safer or more useful, also need qualification or stronger support. Develop both sides more evenly and explain your examples more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs for the views, and a conclusion that restates your position. Linking expressions such as “For Example,” “On the hand,” and “To conclude” signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first body paragraph moves from travel delays to a crowded bus example without clearly connecting each point, while the second combines cost, speed, and accident risk. Some links are inaccurate or repetitive, and references such as “this” and “they” are not always precise. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then explain and support it in a clear sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “railway lines,” “public transport,” “destinations,” and “survey,” so the main subject is generally clear. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning harder to understand. For example, “fast in arrival” is not a natural way to describe speed, “manufacturing of existing public transports” does not clearly express improving services, and “people who stands in waiting of station with” is difficult to interpret. Spelling errors such as “waiing,” “staion,” and “pessangers” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of transport-related collocations and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a reason-and-result structure beginning “because of this,” and you use examples to extend your points. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction can make the reader work to understand your meaning. Examples include “the money should be spend,” “people facing a lot challenges,” and “people wants to reached.” The sentence beginning “For Example, In my area” also runs together several points without clear punctuation. Practise forming accurate subject–verb patterns and past or infinitive forms, and divide long sentences into shorter, complete units before adding more complex structures.

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