Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-06

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 7.0)

In the future rather than people driving cars, buses and trucks, most vehicles will be driverless. I believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

One of the disadvantages of driverless cars would be a possible malfunction in the technology controlling the car. All technology could fail for any number of reasons and if it does with a passenger, this could mean death for both the passengers and others on the road. If the technology fails, the passenger may not know how to drive or may not be able to move fast enough to take control of the car. Furthermore, driverless vehicles would be very expensive and may not be accessible to the poorest in the society. It would only be available for the wealthy and would just be another way to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. The technology may also not be available in less developed countries.

However, the advantages are more compelling. To begin, driverless vehicles could reduce the number of road accidents. Human beings are prone to error and make mistakes in all areas of life. This happens a lot when driving and leads to the high number of road accidents. Driverless cars would be controlled by artificial intelligence and would make less mistakes. They would be programmed to follow all the road safety rules and would be able to make more logical decisions on the road compared to humans. In addition, driverless cars would give people more flexibility. People would be able to do things they couldn't normally do while driving like eating, reading, texting etc. People would even be able to drink alcohol and not be worried about how they would get home or have a need to ask someone to drive them home.

In conclusion , due to the accuracy and flexibility of driverless cars, I firmly believe that the advantages of driverless cars overshadow the drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. You address both sides with relevant points, including technology failure, affordability and access, alongside accident reduction and greater flexibility. The examples about passengers being unable to take control and people being able to read or avoid drink-driving help explain your reasoning. This is a well-focused response with ideas extended and supported. To strengthen it further, avoid broad claims such as driverless cars “would make less mistakes” without qualification, and develop the safety argument by acknowledging that automated systems may also make errors or explaining how their reliability could be assessed. This would make the support more precise and less generalised.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear, effective structure: an introduction states your view, the first body paragraph presents disadvantages, the second develops advantages, and the conclusion restates your position. Progression within the paragraphs is logical, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “However,” and “In addition” make the relationships between points easy to follow. The contrast between the two sides is especially clear. To improve cohesion further, vary the way you connect and refer to ideas rather than relying mainly on explicit transitions. For example, link the affordability point more directly to the issue of unequal access, and use a more precise reference than repeating “driverless cars” several times. Also remove the space before the comma in “In conclusion ,” to keep punctuation consistent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss the topic, including “malfunction,” “accessible,” “artificial intelligence,” “flexibility,” and “accuracy.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and some topic-specific language is used appropriately. However, several expressions are broad or repetitive, such as “technology,” “people,” and “driverless cars,” and a few collocations or word forms are inaccurate. For instance, “make less mistakes” should be “make fewer mistakes,” while “widen the gap between the rich and the poor” could be expressed more precisely as “exacerbate socioeconomic inequality.” The response therefore shows some flexibility, but more consistent precision and natural collocation would strengthen its vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

You use a good mix of simple and complex structures, and many sentences are accurate and easy to understand. Conditional forms are handled effectively in “if it does with a passenger, this could mean death,” and the contrastive sentence beginning “Although” is not needed here, but your use of clauses such as “If the technology fails” shows control of subordination. A few errors remain: “make less mistakes” requires the countable form “fewer,” and “It would only be available” has an unclear singular reference after the plural “vehicles.” The sentence “People would even be able to drink alcohol and not be worried” is understandable but could be more concise and controlled. Continue checking agreement, reference, and punctuation while retaining your varied sentence structures.

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