Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-04

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 some countries, people believe that it is important to spend a large amount of money on constructing new railway lines between cities for fast travel. While, the other people disagree that this money should be spent on improving existing public transport. I believe that the money should be spent on constructing new railway lines as it makes travel over the long distance shorter while saving time.

Japan developed the first bullet train in 1960s and the railway travel has become most common source of commute among the people since then. Not everybody can afford the airplane tickets for easy and comfortable long distance travel. So, it is a easy mean of travel for people who has to travel to other cities for job or education. Mostly people have to move other cities because nobody can afford hours of travel everyday. Fast trains can save people from this hassle as they can travel among long distance daily and save their time.

Public transport is an important mean of travel for common people because everyone cannot afford a personal vehicle. So, most people prefer to travel on public transport whether it be in form of buses, trams or trains. One downgrade of the public transport is that it needs regular maintanence and it could prove quite costly for the governments. Therefore, the governments prefer not to spend money on the costly repairs. But, if we look into it through monetary perspective, the repairs are cheaper than spending money on new tranports. Therefore, spending money on existing public transport is better than developing a new transport system from the scratch.

Overall, the construction of a new railway system for fast trains is a better option as compared to spending money on upgrading the outdated public transport system.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both options and state a clear preference for new fast railway lines in the introduction and conclusion. The first main paragraph gives relevant reasons, including saving time and providing an alternative for people who cannot afford flights. However, the discussion is uneven: the case for improving existing transport is presented mainly as a cost comparison, and the claim that governments avoid repairs is not explained or supported. The example of Japan is relevant but brief, and some points about daily long-distance commuting are generalised rather than developed. To strengthen the response, explain the benefits of upgrading buses, trams or current rail services with a specific example, then compare these benefits directly with those of high-speed rail before reaching your conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding opinion. This helps the reader follow the broad argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and the links between ideas can feel mechanical. For example, the first body paragraph moves from Japan’s bullet trains to airfares and then to commuting without clearly showing how each point supports the next. In the second paragraph, “Therefore” is used for conclusions that do not fully follow from the preceding claims. The contrast between the two views would also be clearer if each paragraph had a focused topic sentence and ideas were ordered from claim to explanation to example. Use referencing and linking expressions more precisely rather than relying on repeated transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “bullet train,” “public transport,” “airplane tickets,” and “monetary perspective.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “outdated public transport system.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “a easy mean of travel,” “one downgrade,” “travel among long distance,” and “new tranports” do not sound natural. Spelling errors such as “maintanence” also reduce control. Aim to learn common transport collocations and check word forms and spelling. More precise terms for the benefits and costs of each option would help you express the comparison without repeating general words such as “money” and “travel.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “While” and a reason clause with “as.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but errors in articles, agreement, and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “While, the other people disagree” is an incomplete and incorrectly punctuated opening, while “a easy mean” and “people who has to travel” show article and subject–verb agreement problems. “Japan developed the first bullet train in 1960s” also needs an article before the decade. Some long sentences, such as the one beginning “Mostly people have to move other cities,” contain several ideas but are not controlled accurately. Practise checking each sentence for a complete clause, correct agreement, and articles, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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