Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-01

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 topic is about where should be the money spent, for constructing new railway lines or improving existing public transport. In my opinion, both of options are necessary and need to work on them.

Some people think it is necessary to spend large amount of money on constructing new railway lines for very fast trains between cities. Because railway journey is more safe and convenient rather than other transportation. For long distance, people can travel fastly through railway and reach their destination by a relaxing journey. Meanwhile, by traveling with bus or car people face traffics and many incovenient situations. In Bangladesh, people use railway journey for long distance travel but here the railway journey is not so fast. So, it's need to be updated.

However, other people believe that the money should be spent on improving existing public transport. There are plenty of transports which are need to repair and many of those are need to be replaced for preventing hazardous situations. By using old public transports in the road, people face many uncertain incidents and risking their life. For this reason, government should provide a secure transport and create a safe road for the people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both views and state a position—“both of options are necessary”—so the response is relevant to the question. You also give a Bangladesh example to illustrate the case for faster rail travel. However, the position is not fully explained, and the supporting ideas remain limited: the benefits of high-speed rail and the need to improve existing transport are asserted rather than developed with specific reasoning or examples. The response also does not meet the required minimum: it contains 165 words, 85 short of 250; 32 words copied from the prompt were excluded. This restricts how fully you can discuss both sides. Develop each view with a clear explanation and a relevant example, then state which investment you prioritise and why.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting new railway lines, and a paragraph on improving existing transport. “However” signals the shift between the two views, and the ideas within each paragraph are generally related. Progression is limited, though: the conclusion and your own opinion are missing, and the paragraphs do not build toward a final judgement. Some links are awkward or repetitive, such as “For this reason,” which introduces a recommendation without fully connecting it to the preceding point. To improve, use a clear sequence—introduce both views, explain each with supporting detail, then conclude with your position—and make links between claims and examples explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “railway lines,” “public transport,” “traffics,” and “hazardous situations.” There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “destination” and “secure transport.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes parts of the response less clear. For example, “fastly” and “incovenient” are incorrect forms or spellings, while “railway journey” is repeated and “uncertain incidents” does not express the intended meaning precisely. Aim for accurate transport collocations and vary repeated terms; proofreading spelling and choosing more natural phrases will make your argument clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer structures, including “Because railway journey is more safe and convenient rather than other transportation” and “By using old public transports in the road, people face…”. However, these attempts are often faulty, and most sentences rely on simple patterns. Errors include the question-like opening “where should be the money spent,” missing or incorrect articles in “Because railway journey,” and the construction “transports which are need to repair.” The sentence beginning “Because” is also a fragment, while “it’s need to be updated” has an incorrect subject and verb pattern. These errors sometimes make the intended relationships harder to follow. Practise complete sentences, subject–verb agreement, articles, and accurate passive forms, then check each sentence for a clear grammatical structure.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.