Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-24
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, there will be no driver in cars, buses and trucks and only passengers will travel in these vehicles. Although people will get more time to do their works and people who do not know how to drive a car can also travel easily, I think that it has more drawback than benefits because many people will be jobless.
On the one hand, one of the major benefits of driverless cars is that is save a lot of time and people can use those in doing other tasks. At present, people have to spend a lot of their time in driving cars or other vehicles, but these technologically advanced car can drive without human involvement, therefore people can use this time do important tasks such as reading, doing meeting or visiting. Furthermore, as driving is a technical skill, some people do know how to drive a vehicle. Therefore, driverless cars can solve this issue and make it possible for everyone to drive without konwing the skill. For example, a recent study found that in 2050 the demand of drivers will be reduced by 50%, as people can drive by driverless cars. However, I think that there are more severe drawback of it as a huge number of people will loss their jobs.
On the other hand, disadvantages of driverless cars are more powerful. The most impactful one is that many people will be jobless. Driving a vehicle is a technical skill, if driverless cars are available, there is no need for drivers. As a result, great number of people will be fired from their jobs. For instance, according to a recent study, in the USA the demand of drivers fall by 10% after launching driverless cars by Tesla.
In conclusion, although there are some advantages of driverless cars like more time availability and no need for driving skill to drive a vehicle, there is more severe disadvantages like people will be jobless.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of driverless vehicles and clearly states a position in the introduction and conclusion, arguing that disadvantages outweigh benefits. Ideas are extended, such as discussing time-saving aspects and job losses. However, there is some repetition between the second and third body paragraphs, where the issue of job losses is discussed twice, leading to some under-development of breadth. The position is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' are used to structure the text, although some referencing is slightly mechanical or repetitive ('driverless cars' is repeated frequently instead of using effective pronouns or synonyms). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas, resulting in a coherent overall arrangement that fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and phrases such as 'technologically advanced', 'human involvement', and 'technical skill'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('konwing', 'loss' instead of lose, 'disadvantage' pluralization issues) and awkward word choices ('doing meeting' instead of holding meetings, 'more severe drawback'). These lexical slips do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures and subordinate clauses ('Although people will get more time...', 'As a result, great number of people...'). There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly missing articles ('a great number', 'save a lot of time'), subject-verb agreement issues ('is save', 'demand of drivers fall'), and tense inconsistencies. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear, and communication is rarely impeded, which aligns with the criteria for Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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