Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-15

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Many manufactured food and drink products contain high levels of sugar, which causes many health problems. Sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 4.0)

The topic of driverless cars has become a widely discussed issue in contemporary society. Some people believe that it has several advantages, whereas others argue that it may have certain drawbacks. This essay will critically evaluate the key benefits and drawbacks before reaching a well- reasoned conclusion.

On the one hand, proponents of driverless vehicles primarily contend that automated cars are more likely to make our lives easier. Due to the fact that we do not need to drive the car, which can have a significant impact on our financial resources, because we are able to save our money. Additionally, supporters of this development argue that driverless cars tend to mitigate traffic congestion; as a result, if cars are automated, individuals can buy a car with sharing. Therefore, by sharing cars, we are more likely to minimise the number of vehicles. A pertinent illustration of this can be seen in developed countries, where they are already utilizing the driverless cars, thereby highlighting the tangible benefits of this approach.

On the other hand, one significant drawback of this driverless car is that it can increase the number of accidents. This is because a driverless car would be run by using artificial intelligence, which can ultimately lead to facing a lot of accidents. Another key explanation is that driverless cars will not be able to go to the exact destination; therefore, we are destined to face some serious problems, directly influencing the ability of people to face some serious difficulties in their emergency time.

In conclusion, after examining these arguments, I am convinced that the benefits are far more significant. While various dimensions surround this issue, the analysis above makes it clear that the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks, primarily because we will obtain more facilities in our daily life through automated cars. Therefore, this remains the most practical path forward.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0

The response suffers from a severe issue regarding task relevance. The prompt asks whether sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. However, the student's entire essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages of driverless cars, completely ignoring the topic of sugar, manufactured food and drink, and taxation or pricing strategies. According to the IELTS band descriptors for Task Achievement, a response that is largely off-topic cannot achieve a passing score. Although the essay follows a standard academic essay structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, the complete failure to address the actual prompt means the task response is not fulfilled. Therefore, a band score of 1.0 is assigned.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

Despite being off-topic, the student demonstrates a basic structural organization typical of IELTS essays. The response is divided into four paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Additionally', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is often mechanical or faulty. For instance, referencing is sometimes unclear, and sentences like 'Due to the fact that we do not need to drive the car, which can have a significant impact on our financial resources, because we are able to save our money' feature fragmented logic and run-on structures that disrupt the flow and logical progression. Paragraphing is adequate, but overall cohesion remains flawed, corresponding to a band score of 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used throughout the essay is repetitive and heavily focused on the topic of automated vehicles rather than the prompt's subject matter. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items, such as 'contemporary society', 'mitigate traffic congestion', and 'tangible benefits', but these are often combined with awkward phrasing or minor collocation errors, such as 'facing a lot of accidents' and 'emergency time'. There are also simple word choice issues, such as using 'facilities' in the conclusion when referring to benefits or advantages. The lexical range is adequate for a basic attempt at an essay, but inaccuracies in word choice and repetition limit the score to a 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but many complex structures are grammatically flawed. For example, the sentence 'Due to the fact that we do not need to drive the car, which can have a significant impact on our financial resources, because we are able to save our money' is grammatically incomplete and contains redundant subordinating conjunctions. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'are destined to face some serious problems, directly influencing the ability of people to face some serious difficulties'. While some simpler sentences are constructed correctly, frequent errors in complex sentence formation and punctuation impact readability, resulting in a band score of 5.0.

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