Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-04

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)

The implementation of driverless vehicles in the near future has many advantages as well as disadvantages. While it seems very beneficial but I believe that it's drawbacks are far more than it's benefits. In this essay, I'll explain it's advantages and disadvantages and my opinion with reasons and examples.

We can not deny the impressive image that shows a future full of driverless vehicles in the city and how it will have a positive impact on everyone's life. There will be no financial burden of driver's salaries. Everything will work smoothly on just one click. People can commute easily. The prime example of this can be Tesla AI car advertisement which shows you can easily travel without need of a driver. It looks really amazing and people can not wait for such future.

But there are far more disadvantages that we shouldn't ignore. The first significant downside is that AI is taking driver's jobs and making hundred of people jobless. Consequently, it increases unemployment rate in the society.

Secondly, the major concern is the safety risk. Nowadays, companies are working on teaching AI to take instant safe action in any emergency situation. But no matter how develop and advance it becomes, it can not compete human mind's capability of taking quick action. There will be always a chance of mistake. Undeniably, human being can also make mistake but they take responsibility and have feelings like care, empathy and sampathy . But when AI makes a mistake, their companies become responsible for accidents but we have already lost a life then. For example, recently Chatgpt encouraged a teenager to do suicide and now when he is gone people are questioning who is responsible for his death.

To conclude, no matter how much ease it can bring to our lives, we should not put human life entirely in the hands of AI. The safety concerns of human being always come first than the profit and ease a product brings.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, and a clear position is maintained throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The advantages section is quite brief and relies on a generic example (Tesla), while the disadvantages section, though more detailed, uses an irrelevant example regarding ChatGPT to support an argument about driverless vehicles. To reach a higher band, you should ensure that all examples are directly pertinent to the specific topic of autonomous transport and provide more depth to the 'advantages' side of the argument to create a more balanced and comprehensive discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'consequently,' 'secondly,' and 'to conclude' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the jump from discussing AI safety to the ChatGPT example is abrupt and lacks a strong logical bridge. Additionally, the use of referencing is occasionally imprecise, which slightly affects the overall flow. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence builds naturally upon the previous one would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'financial burden,' 'unemployment rate,' and 'emergency situation.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, such as 'sampathy' (sympathy) and 'develop and advance' (developed and advanced). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that you are using the correct word forms (e.g., adjectives vs. verbs) to convey your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'it's drawbacks' (its), 'no matter how develop and advance it becomes' (developed and advanced), and 'human being' (human beings). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining your control over complex sentence structures will help you achieve a higher band.

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

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