Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-02

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 modern times, fast travel play an important role to save time; few individuals think that spend a lot of money to built new railway lines for fast travel between cities, and the others believe that money should be spent on public transport improvement; this easy will examine both perspective. In my opinion, i partially agree with both point of view.

On the one hand, fast travel encourage people to take trains for travel to different cities; for instance, train is convenient and essential for student to travel for school and other purpose like shopping, travel to library and to visit historical places for knowledge and it also reduce in under age driving; and also for businessman it's convenient for travel to another cities for meeting rather than travel by car; it also help to reduce traffic, noise pollution and air pollution.

On the other hand, improving existing public transport to next level technology play an important role in develop of country and development in existing public transport helps office worker to manage expenses and travel to office at cheap price rather than buying a expensive car for travel purpose; for example, in developed countries people use public transport to manage time and their expenses.

In conclusion, fast travel for students and businessman is convenient and essential to travel another rather than buying expensive car, and help to prevent under age drive; also improving public transport help office worker to travel to office and its play an important role in development of the country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views by discussing fast intercity trains and improvements to existing public transport, and your conclusion refers to both. However, the position is not fully clear: “I partially agree with both point of view” does not explain what you support or under what circumstances. The reasons are relevant, such as convenience for students and workers and reducing traffic and pollution, but they are mostly asserted rather than explained. The example about students travelling to school, libraries and historical places also focuses on general train use rather than specifically on very fast trains between cities. Develop each side with a clearer explanation of its benefits and limitations, then state a precise opinion and support it consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs beginning “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This makes the two perspectives easy to identify. However, progression within paragraphs is less controlled. The first body paragraph combines several examples and benefits in one long sentence, while the second moves quickly from national development to workers’ expenses without explaining the connection. Linking phrases such as “and also” are repetitive, and the conclusion largely repeats earlier points rather than drawing them together. Use shorter, clearly organised sentences and make each paragraph develop one main idea, with explicit links between the claim, explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “railway lines,” “public transport,” “traffic,” and “air pollution,” so the subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several noticeable word-choice or collocation errors make parts awkward, such as “fast travel,” “this easy will examine,” and “take trains for travel.” Some words are repeated, particularly “travel,” “convenient,” and “help,” and phrases such as “next level technology” are vague in this context. Aim for more precise transport-related expressions and check that words combine naturally. For example, describe “high-speed rail services” and “upgrading existing public transport,” then choose specific benefits such as affordability, accessibility or reduced congestion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas using clauses and semicolons, but the range of sentence structures is limited and many sentences contain errors that can make the reader work to understand them. For example, “fast travel play” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “think that spend a lot of money” lacks a correctly formed verb phrase. There are also recurring issues with articles, plurals and sentence boundaries, as in “a expensive car” and the long first body sentence joined by repeated semicolons. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then add subordinate clauses to explain reasons. Check agreement, verb forms and articles during editing, and divide long sentences where they contain several separate points.

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