Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-15

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Using a cell phone while driving is dangerous because it causes the driver to become distracted. Therefore, cell phone use by drivers should be made illegal.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Using cell phone while driving is dangerous. Our brain is getting addicted towards it and it gather our focus just to itself, the apps and screen are specially designed for the attention. While driving, even little non attentiveness can be fatal to us and other people around us. And using cell phone is the extreme level of it. Lets just ignore the screen time or apps, even holding mobile or keeping it near your vision to use it can lead to the accident. Even if you don't lose focus from the road, there is very much chances you cannot handle steering wheel effectively while holding a mobile in one hand, what if you mobile fall down on car floor and you try to pick it up that is also the reason and example of distraction, while doing so one could just turn the steering wheel to one direction and can met to an accident. You can be experienced driver with the years of on road time, but being attentive is not only for you self, one should focus on other driver too and try to predict the move of them as well, as everyone has there own driving style.

I am full agree with the law of using cell phone while driving is illegal.

I can tell you from my past experience I was driving on national highway and the drive in front of was on call, there was pothole on road and his car jumped through it and his car lost control as he was driving with single hand. He was lucky that he survived as the road was mostly empty and he gained control on car. But it could have been worse for him and every car behind it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of making cell phone use while driving illegal. You provide relevant arguments regarding cognitive distraction and physical impairment, and you include a personal anecdote to support your view. However, the development is somewhat informal and repetitive. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are more structured and avoid conversational phrasing like 'Lets just ignore the screen time'. The ideas are relevant, but the overall depth of analysis could be improved by discussing the broader societal implications or potential counter-arguments more formally.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often disjointed. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures, which makes the progression of ideas feel mechanical. There is a lack of sophisticated cohesive devices; for example, you use 'And' and 'But' frequently to start sentences, which limits the logical flow. Paragraphing is present, but the transition between the general argument and the personal example is abrupt. Improving the use of linking words such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in addition' would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You use basic terms like 'dangerous', 'bad', and 'lucky'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'gather our focus just to itself' and 'met to an accident'. While your meaning is clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and you struggle with more sophisticated expressions. To improve, focus on learning topic-specific collocations related to road safety and formal academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader. Examples include 'Using cell phone' (missing article), 'there is very much chances' (subject-verb agreement), and 'everyone has there own' (incorrect pronoun usage). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with run-on sentences. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for articles, subject-verb agreement, and correct pronoun usage.

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

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