Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-27

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)

Transportation is an important necessity for everyone. It is often argued that in the future, all modes of transportation such as cars, buses and trucks will be autonomous, and the only people inside these vehicles will be the passengers. This essay will discuss both advantages and disadvantages and explain why I believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

On the one hand, driverless vehicles will have numerous benefits. First and foremost, the reason is that the rate of accidents will decline. Sometimes, drivers can engage in rash driving, and it leads to dangerous accidents. The number of accidents will be under control because the vehicle is autonomous and it doesn't make mistakes as humans do. More likely, these driverless vehicles can reduce traffic congestion and delays, as traffic increases with an increase in population. So, these autonomous vehicles navigate the route on their own, which reduces traffic congestion, and people can reach their destination on time with no delays. In addition, it will help disabled persons, who are unable to drive themselves to any location. For example, a disabled old person can reach their destination with the help of autonomous vehicles, rather than driving on their own. Therefore, driverless vehicles reduce the number of accidents and traffic congestion, and also it benefits disabled persons.

On the other hand, autonomous vehicles have adverse effects. Driverless vehicles create unemployment for taxi drivers and bus operators. Maybe these persons are the only breadwinners of the family, so it definitely creates poverty among those families. Furthermore, these vehicles are designed to operate at very advanced levels, so the cost of owning these vehicles might be too high. On top of that, these are designed with some algorithms and code. If any error occurs in the middle of the driving system will fail, and the passengers will be at high risk. Similarly, they should cope with the surrounding environment to ensure a smooth flow while driving. Hence, autonomous vehicles lead to sudden system failure and greater loss of employment.

In conclusion, although autonomous vehicles lead to unemployment and sudden system failure, I strongly agree that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Driverless vehicles reduce traffic congestion and the risk of accidents because they can navigate the route on their own, and as well as it provides assistant to disabled persons.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing both advantages and disadvantages. However, there is a significant contradiction between the introduction and the conclusion. In the introduction, you state that you believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, but in the conclusion, you state that you strongly agree the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. This inconsistency makes your position unclear. While the ideas are relevant, the development of the arguments is somewhat basic. For instance, the point about unemployment is valid but could be further developed with more specific implications for the economy or society. To improve, ensure your position is consistent throughout the essay and expand on your supporting points with more depth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the discussion of traffic congestion and the needs of disabled persons is abrupt. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'these vehicles' or 'autonomous vehicles'. Improving the variety of your cohesive devices and ensuring a more natural progression of ideas will help elevate your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'autonomous', 'traffic congestion', and 'breadwinners' appropriately. However, the vocabulary is somewhat limited and occasionally repetitive. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'it provides assistant to disabled persons' (should be 'assistance'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise, less common lexical items and collocations. For example, instead of 'create unemployment', you could use 'displace workers' or 'render certain professions obsolete'. Expanding your vocabulary to include more sophisticated synonyms will help you express your ideas with greater precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'the reason is that the rate of accidents will decline' is slightly awkward, and 'as well as it provides assistant' is grammatically incorrect. There are also some issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on proofreading for small errors in verb forms and sentence structure, and aim to use a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with greater accuracy.

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

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