Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-06

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)

In many continents of the world, public rely on private cars for transportation. In my opinion I believe its having a bad impact on our well being. It affects in both ways positive and negative. I will discuss it below.

One of the major reason is people rely on private cars because of less public transportation. Nowadays as we know many rape cases are held in public transport such as trains, buses. people get scared. Therefore they prefer their own transportation because of safety issues. another reason is public transportation is having a bad condition. because government does not provide funds, communities also dont provide money for their repair or replacement. they are broken. for instance i remember an incident when i was a college student and as i daily travel on the bus . this bus belongs to government property but it creates a greater noise, broken windows, doors, even someone cant able to hear a phone.

Another major reason is it affects our lives in bad way such as creating so much noise, pollution, congestion. Even now a single person is also prefer a car. its costly also.

In conclusion, government should provide a public transportation and spread awareness among people to use public transportation. big companies ang government both should work together. tell them their negative impacts on our social life and on health. people also choose wisely whenever they want to go anywhere. because with this way we can protect the environment for our future generation.

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 our lives and whether these effects are positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention safety and the poor state of public transport as reasons for car reliance, the discussion on the 'positive or negative' aspect is limited. You mention noise, pollution, and congestion, but these points are not fully explored or supported with sufficient depth. To improve, ensure each main idea is supported by a clear explanation and a specific example, rather than listing points briefly. The position is clear, but the overall argument lacks the necessary depth for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or missing. For example, the transition between the reasons for car reliance and the negative impacts is abrupt. Some sentences are fragmented, such as 'because government does not provide funds', which disrupts the flow of ideas. To improve, use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'on the other hand') to connect your sentences and paragraphs more naturally. Ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence to guide the reader through your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher score. You rely on basic terms like 'bad impact', 'bad condition', and 'big companies'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'public rely on private cars' (should be 'the public relies') and 'rape cases are held' (should be 'occur' or 'take place'). To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary and precise collocations. Avoid repetitive phrasing and aim to use synonyms to express your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'public transportation is having', 'a single person is also prefer'), missing articles, and punctuation errors. The use of sentence fragments, such as 'because government does not provide funds', indicates a need for better control over complex sentence construction. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence structure and proofreading for common errors like verb tense consistency and article usage before moving on to more complex grammatical forms.

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

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