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)

There is ongoing debate about whether the spending large sums of money on constructing new railway lines for very fast trains, while other argued that money should be spent on improving existing public transportation. In my opinion, I would support improving existing public transportation as first priority, because it helps people more in their daily lives. However, I would also support constructing high-speed railway lines where it is necessary.

Public transportation can be used by many people on the daily basis for travelling long route or going for their jobs it is better to improve it by giving better facilities to save their time. Moreover, improving current transportation facilities by improving btter buses , local trains, and metro service reduce communiting difficulties. Governments can improve existing systems without always having to build expensive new railway infrastructure. furthermore, Affordable and reliable transport helps students, workers, and low-income families. For example, many people can prefer to travel through public transportation instead of using personal vehicle, after improving its facilities.

However, improving high-speed trains railway lines can help to reach moe early while travelling long distance between two cities.It will also help to the business people and need to travel more frequently and tourists travel more efficiently. Additionally, they can reduce the number of people travelling by private cars, or domestic flights on suitable routes. For instance, people travelling long journey can saves several hours by travelling through high speed trains with better railway lines.

In conclusion, I believe that, improving existing transportation is more better for those who uses metro, local trains and buses on daily basis. On the other side, spending money on building new railway lines for fast running trains can also save time by covering long distance between two different cities in less hours.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state a clear preference for improving existing public transport, while allowing that high-speed rail may be useful where needed. Relevant reasons include daily benefits for students, workers and low-income families, and time savings on intercity journeys. However, the two sides are not developed equally: the case for existing transport includes several groups and examples, while the high-speed rail discussion mainly repeats the benefit of saving time. The examples are also general rather than specific, and the conclusion restates the position without explaining how investment priorities might be balanced. To strengthen the response, develop each view with a more concrete example and explain why your preferred option should come first.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. This makes the discussion easy to follow, and signposts such as “Moreover,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help show the direction of the argument. Some connections are less smooth or precise, though. The opening sentence is awkwardly constructed, and the shift from improving local services to high-speed rail is clear but the relationship between the two investment choices is not explored. Within paragraphs, several ideas are placed together without enough explanation of how one leads to the next. Use linking phrases selectively and add clearer cause-and-effect connections, especially when explaining how better transport would benefit the groups mentioned.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant transport vocabulary, including “public transportation,” “railway infrastructure,” “low-income families,” and “domestic flights,” which gives you an adequate range for the topic. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “high-speed trains” and “reliable transport.” However, inaccurate word forms, spelling, and collocations reduce precision: “communiting difficulties,” “reach moe early,” and “long route” are unclear or unnatural, while “better facilities” is repeated and general. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main ideas, but they make parts of the response less fluent. Check spelling carefully and learn common transport collocations, such as “commuting difficulties,” “arrive earlier,” and “long-distance journeys.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause with “because” and a conditional phrase in “where it is necessary.” The main argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and control. For example, “Public transportation can be used by many people … for travelling … or going for their jobs it is better to improve it” joins ideas without a clear sentence boundary. There are also agreement and verb-form problems in “facilities … reduce” and “people travelling long journey can saves.” Review sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb forms. Building accurate shorter sentences first, then combining them with controlled clauses, would improve readability.

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