Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-26

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many parts of the world, people rely on private cars for transportation.

In what ways does reliance on private cars affect the way we live?

Do the effects tend to be positive or negative?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Having a personal vehicle is become a trend in today's era and they use it for their personal use like going to office, buying groceries and so on. people think it as a status symbol. I personally think that the benefits of these trends would surpass its drawbacks to a major extent. My position with this would be elaborated further with reasons and relevant examples.

The foremost argument to justify my stand is that this trend helps people to save their time as in this competitive era, the main problem which is faced by every people is how to manage time. people feel stuck in their personal life and professional life. so, having a private car helps them to travel to their work and business as it takes less time rather than taking a public transport. For example, if a person spend time 1 hour of their day in travelling through bus for work, car will take only half an hour for the same thing. that's why people are more motivated with personal car.

probing ahead, the other main underlying reason stems from the facts that car is good option for travelling long distance as now in this globalizing world, going from one place to another for business or visiting is now become common, so car stand as a best and convenient option because if people use public transport, it make them more restless as it is very hard to find direct route bus. As a result, people prefer their own car.

To conclude, I think that rely on private car is now become very to crucial in this era, as nobody can live without it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the ways in which reliance on cars affects life and whether these effects are positive or negative. However, the development is limited. While you mention time-saving and convenience, the arguments are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the point about 'restless' public transport is not fully explained. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced examples or consider the broader societal or environmental impacts of car reliance to show a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'probing ahead' are not standard academic transitions. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore,' 'consequently,' 'in contrast') and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that connects logically to the overall argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There is a reliance on basic phrasing, such as 'good option' and 'best and convenient option.' Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'is become a trend' or 'nobody can live without it.' To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and topic-specific vocabulary related to transportation and urban living, while ensuring that your word forms are grammatically accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('every people is'), article usage ('a public transport'), and tense errors ('is become'). The sentence structures are relatively simple, and there is a lack of complex grammatical forms. To improve, work on mastering basic sentence construction and subject-verb agreement. Once these are consistent, focus on incorporating complex structures like conditional sentences or relative clauses to demonstrate a wider range of control.

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

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