Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-07

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)

From my perspective, private cars are mostly used to make transportation relatively convenient and hassle free. However, private cars can contribute to several issues such as traffic jams, unavailability of parking lot, car pollution, noise pollution and on top of that emission of carbon dioxide which can create such a negative impact on our environment.

Another aspect of using private cars by the family members itself become a status quo, which then create a competition among the family members especially in young generation.

In comparison with public transport, public transport is a very effective and more environment friendly option and accommodate a huge chunk of people in a single trip. However, we cannot get the facilitation as compared to the private cars, in which we can stop and grab a coffee on the go.

In my area where I live, I have seen an exceptional growth in the private cars from last two years, my neighbor of three family members has three individual cars, hence parking is always a huge problem. If I want to get the parking, I have to be in the town before 8.00 pm. Otherwise, I have to park on the other side of the road, which is not a convenient option.

In conclusion, the enormous number of private cars are creating serious environmental and as well as community issues which can only be rectified by encouraging and promoting a culture of opting public transport services. Therefore, the effects tend of using private cars are negative rather than positive.

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 the evaluation of these effects as negative. The position is clear from the introduction and maintained throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about 'status quo' and competition among family members is introduced but not fully explained or linked back to the broader societal impact. While the personal example regarding parking is relevant, the essay would benefit from more depth in discussing the environmental and social consequences to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'In comparison with', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the discussion of status and the comparison with public transport is abrupt. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as the phrase 'the enormous number of private cars are creating', where the subject-verb agreement is slightly off, affecting the cohesion of the sentence structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'emission of carbon dioxide', 'environment friendly', and 'rectified'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are some awkward collocations, such as 'get the facilitation' and 'exceptional growth in the private cars'. The use of 'status quo' is slightly misused in this context, as it refers to the existing state of affairs rather than a trend or social pressure. More precise word choices would improve the sophistication of the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'the effects tend of using' (word order), 'my neighbor of three family members has' (awkward phrasing), and 'as well as community issues' (redundant 'as well as'). Subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'the enormous number of private cars are', also occur. These errors do not impede communication, but they demonstrate a lack of consistent control over complex structures, which is characteristic of the Band 6 level.

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

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