Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-21
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 today's rapidly evolving world, personal vehicles are exponentially growing. Some people believe that the excess use private cars have many drastic impacts on the society while other argue that it is more benefical than public transport. I strongly opion that personal use of cars have more negetive impact on the society.
First of all, traffic congestion is the main problem in the major cities around the world. This because of the personal cars on the road. For instance, if everyone is going to work in his own car, then there will be more cars on the road which occupies more space on the road. Furthermore it also increases the fuel consumption of the society which led to inflation. Hence, private cars contribute to traffic and hike in oil price.
Secondly, the overuse of private vehicle also rises the pollution in the world. Because of this, city pollution is a major concern for the society. For example, everyone is using personal car to travel. It consumes more fuels, emits more smoke, which is a major element of city pollution. Moreover, it also helps in global warming. Therefore, vehicle emissions are main source of pollution.
Although, it has some benefits as well such we donot need to wait for public transport. Despite of this, it has more drawbacks than benefits. However, governments shouldalso take steps to encourage people to use public vehicles such as providing end to end connectivity in the cities and by lowing the price for daily commuters. These are the steps that can implemented.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe private cars have a more negative effect on society. You address both the effects on daily life and whether they are positive or negative, with relevant points about congestion, fuel use, pollution, and the convenience of not waiting for public transport. The examples help explain the environmental effects, but the discussion is uneven: the benefits are mentioned only briefly, and the link between fuel consumption and inflation is asserted rather than explained. To strengthen the response, develop how congestion affects people’s routines, such as commuting time, and explain the car’s convenience before weighing it against the disadvantages.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs on disadvantages, and a final paragraph acknowledging a benefit and offering solutions. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “Therefore” make the progression easy to follow. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “This because of the personal cars on the road” does not form a clear link, and the final paragraph moves quickly from a benefit to government measures without fully connecting them to the earlier discussion. Use linking expressions more selectively and make each paragraph’s central point explicit, then explain how its examples support that point.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “traffic congestion,” “fuel consumption,” “global warming,” and “vehicle emissions,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “a major concern” and “contribute to.” However, inaccurate word forms, spelling, and collocations reduce precision: “exponentially growing” is awkward for describing car use, “drastic impacts” is not a natural fit here, and “lowing the price” is incorrect. Several phrases also repeat “personal cars” and “society.” Build a more precise range of transport-related expressions and check spelling and collocation so that your vocabulary sounds natural as well as relevant.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including conditional and cause-and-effect structures such as “if everyone is going to work in his own car, then there will be more cars” and “Because of this, city pollution is a major concern.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and control. Examples include “the excess use private cars have,” “This because of,” and “the overuse of private vehicle also rises,” where sentence structure or agreement is faulty. There are also problems with articles, plurals, and punctuation, as in “a major element of city pollution.” Practise forming complete clauses and checking subject–verb agreement, while varying sentence patterns accurately.
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