Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-25
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)
Some people argue that in future all vehicles including trucks, busses and cars will be driverless. the only person sitting in the car will be the passengers. This essay will discuss both views and will argue that the advantages of driverless vehicles will outweigh the disadvantages.
On the one hand, driverless motors have many advantages like if a person is sick or is unable to drive he can just come and sit in the car and can go anywhere the car will take him to his destination without any problem. It will also help parents to send their children to school without allowing them to drive. Due to this the risk of accidents could also decrease in future and people may cover long distances with ease because they will not have to focus on roads and cars anymore. This could also proves to be beneficial in reducing traffic problem as all cars will be managed by AI and will follow strict rules as compared to human drivers.
On the other hand, it also have some disadvantages like people will start travelling more than usual they may use cars to go everywhere instead of taking a buses or walking. It may also increase the demand of fuel and gasoline which are used in cars due to which more harmful gasses will be released into the environment. It may also cause the auto-pilot cars to be more expensive than a normal car.
In conclusion, the self driving cars may be expensive and can cause more harmful gasses to the environment, but i think the advantages could outweigh the disadvantages.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of driverless vehicles, while also presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are relevant, such as increased accessibility for sick or elderly individuals, enhanced child safety, and AI traffic management. However, some arguments lack deep development and remain somewhat general, such as the brief mentions of fuel demand and environmental impact in the third body paragraph. Furthermore, the introduction states it will discuss 'both views,' which is slightly misaligned with an 'advantages versus disadvantages' prompt format, though the body paragraphs successfully address the core question. Overall, the task is handled adequately, meeting the requirements of Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response features an overall coherent arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately, separating the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion into distinct blocks. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical. For instance, the second paragraph relies heavily on a massive run-on sentence starting with 'driverless motors have many advantages like if a person is sick...' which strains logical flow and punctuation. Cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear. This places the response firmly within the Band 6 descriptor, where cohesion can sometimes be mechanical or faulty.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'destination,' 'accessibility,' 'expensive,' and 'environment.' There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary, though this is sometimes accompanied by inaccuracy, such as 'driverless motors' instead of 'driverless vehicles' or 'auto-pilot cars.' Spelling is generally reliable, and errors in word choice do not impede communication. The lexical range is sufficient to allow the writer to convey their ideas, aligning well with the Band 6 criteria for lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. While there are some correct complex structures, control over punctuation and sentence boundaries is weak. The second paragraph contains severe run-on sentences with comma splices and missing full stops, such as '...take him to his destination without any problem. It will also help...' connected loosely or incorrectly. Additionally, there are minor grammatical errors such as 'busses' instead of 'buses' and 'harmful gasses' instead of 'gases,' along with subject-verb agreement slips like 'it also have some disadvantages.' Because errors in grammar and punctuation are frequent and occasionally obscure sentence boundaries, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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