Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In the future all cars, buses and trucks will be driverless. The only people travelling inside these vehicles will be passengers.

Do you think the advantages of driverless vehicles outweigh the disadvantages?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In the future, the transportation such as cars, buses and trucks will be driverless. The only passengers will be the people inside these vehicles. From my perspective, I believe that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

On the one hand, through driverless vehicles the accident may become fewer. The features such as analyzing the surronding and drive accordingly. Also, the feature when the car analyze something danger around it, the alert voice rangs by which pasenger are also alerted. One of the best example of driverless cars is tesla, these cars have no drivers and it drive by its own developed techniques. This results in less accident and higher safety. Another reason is its convenience, people can comfortably sit in the car and can work or enjoy watching mobile phones instead of concentrating on other cars. It also provides comfort to elder people or individuals with disability.

On the other hand, the major concern about driverless cars would be the technical failure. If the software sensors or navigating system stops working, serious accident may occur. Moreover, these cars can be expensive. Building these cars would be of high costs because it needs higher technologies and valueable infrastructure. Therefore, this could be expensive. Furthermore, the problem of unemployment. People become enemployment due to no need of drivers.

In conclusion, although the disavantages of driverless vehicles could not be ignored such as technical failure and high cost, I believe that the advantages are greater than the disadvantages such as fewer accident and convenience.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear position in the introduction and conclusion: you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The response addresses both sides with relevant points, including fewer accidents, convenience, technical failure, cost and unemployment. However, several ideas are asserted rather than explained; for example, the Tesla example does not show clearly how its technology reduces accidents, and the unemployment point is not developed. The conclusion repeats the main points without adding much synthesis. The response contains 241 words, so it is 9 words below the 250-word minimum; the 9 words copied from the task prompt are not counted. Develop each main point with a brief explanation or specific example, and ensure the response meets the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs presenting advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the broad direction. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some links feel mechanical. In the advantages paragraph, the discussion moves from accident prevention to an alert system, Tesla, convenience and accessibility without clearly connecting or prioritising these points. The sentence fragment “The features such as analyzing the surronding and drive accordingly” also interrupts the flow. Group related ideas, use clear topic sentences, and explain how each supporting detail connects to the paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “driverless vehicles,” “technical failure,” “sensors,” “infrastructure” and “unemployment.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “navigating system.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make the writing less precise: “the transportation,” “higher technologies,” “valueable,” “surronding,” and “enemployment.” Repetition of “cars,” “feature” and “accident” also limits flexibility. Choose more natural collocations and check spelling; for instance, describe “fewer road accidents” and “advanced technology” rather than using the less natural phrases in the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the conditional “If the software sensors or navigating system stops working, serious accident may occur” and a contrast clause beginning “although.” However, control is inconsistent, and several errors affect clarity. “The features such as analyzing the surronding and drive accordingly” is a sentence fragment, while “the car analyze” and “it drive” have subject–verb agreement errors. Other examples include “the accident may become fewer,” “the alert voice rangs,” and “people can comfortably sit in the car and can work.” Articles and plural forms are also often missing. Practise complete sentence construction, agreement, and articles, then proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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

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