Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-17

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)

Many people round the world use their private cars as the primarly transportation rather than use public transportation. In the essay we will discuss the ways using private vechiels effects people's lives, discussing the benefits and drawsback for this behaviour.

On the one hand, private vechiels forms a comfortable and felixable sort of transportation for many people. As private cars do not have a specific time schedule and people can use them based on heir needs in contrast with public transportation which have a specific timetable. To illustrate, someone is sick and needs to go to the hospital after midnight, he can use his/her vehicle with ease and go to hospital as soon as possible. Consequently, they could have a significant impact in emergencies.

On the other hand, using private vechiels has its pros and cons. While it provides a comfort and ease way of move and travel, they could be a financial burden in terms of its fuel and maintainance. This effect in people's lives depends on their ability to monteray deal with the costs of using private cars. However, If people tend t rely on private cars without having the ability to pay the costs. That would turn into a financial burden and using public transportation would be the better choice.

In conclusion , relying on private cars could be helpful if people have the financial stability to put fuel and do the aquired maintaince. and cars could be significantly important in cases of emergencies, whilst public transportaiton sould be more practical if these costs could become a burden on families.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions by describing how cars affect daily life and weighing convenience against cost. The emergency example—being able to reach hospital after midnight—supports the benefit, and you conclude that the overall value depends on people’s financial circumstances. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the effects on everyday life are mostly reduced to flexibility and expense, with little explanation of broader consequences such as independence, congestion, or pollution. The position is also conditional rather than a clear judgement about whether the effects tend to be positive or negative. Develop a wider range of relevant effects and state your overall view directly, then support it with specific reasoning or examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting points, and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the broad direction. However, progression within the second body paragraph is less clear: it shifts from costs to people’s ability to pay and then to public transport, without fully explaining how these points connect. The phrase “has its pros and cons” also repeats the contrast rather than advancing the argument. Use each paragraph to develop one main effect, and make references such as “This effect” more precise so the connections between claims are clear rather than mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “financial burden,” “timetable,” “emergencies,” and “public transportation.” These choices communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, for example “primarly,” “vechiels,” “felixable,” “maintainance,” and “monteray.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “a comfort and ease way of move and travel” and “put fuel.” These issues make parts of the response less fluent to read. Build a more accurate set of topic-specific expressions and check spelling and collocation carefully; for instance, use “flexible,” “maintenance costs,” and “refuel” in appropriate contexts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea in “if people tend to rely on private cars without having the ability to pay the costs.” However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully, and frequent errors affect clarity. For example, “private cars forms” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “public transportation which have a specific timetable” also has incorrect agreement. The sentence beginning “However, If people…” is a fragment, and the conclusion contains an incomplete construction after “and cars could be significantly important.” Articles, pronouns, and punctuation are also inconsistent. Practise building complete sentences around one main clause, then check agreement and sentence boundaries before adding subordinate clauses.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.