Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-01

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 6.5)

Self-driving vehicles have recently gained traction and many speculate that the future of transport would be driverless car, buses and other vehicles. While such technology already exists, its affordability is verly limited and safety concerns still exist. But in the near future with better innovation, the possibility of driverless vehicles with only passengers seems like a real possibility. This essay will address the potential benefits that could possibly outweigh the downsides associated with it.

I believe self-driving vehicles will primarily benefit the disabled individuals and the geriatric population all around the world. Individuals with conditions such as quadriplegia or paraplegia are physically limited. similarly, those with cognitive issues and vision-related problems would be greatly benefited with such technology. It can help older adults remain independent by not having to rely on others to commute. Driverless ambulances that identify the optimal route to reach the destination in the shortest time could help reduce problems occurring due to delays. Another major benefit is the low margin of errors by automated vehicles. It can help reduce the incidences of road-traffic accidents and thereby reduce deaths resulting from head injuries or other common conditions. With automated trucks, shipping can become more efficient, accidents resulting from drivers when they are fatigued due to long hours of driving trucks can also be minimized.

While it has many advantages, in cases of accidents, there is a question of accountability. A machine cannot be blamed for an error, therefore it is reasonable to expect the companies to tailor means to appropriately handle such circumstances before their products enters the market. Similarly, the legal premise in this aspect is quite underexplored and would have to be established before self-driving vehicles become a common household product. Another issue is a substantial proportion of indiduals working as drivers would loose their means of livelihood. Although, hybrid vehicles could reduce this impact on the job market.

In conclusion, I believe, self-driving vehicles can help improve safety of transportation and reduce the healthcare burden resulting from unfortunate accidents. The few potential drawbacks can be managed by ensuring strict regulation and laws to handle complex situations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, suggesting that the advantages of driverless vehicles outweigh the disadvantages. You have successfully identified relevant ideas, such as benefits for the elderly and disabled, safety improvements, and efficiency in shipping, as well as drawbacks like accountability and job losses. However, some ideas remain under-developed rather than fully extended. For instance, the point regarding driverless ambulances is introduced but not thoroughly explored, and the discussion on legal premises could benefit from deeper analysis. To move closer to the next band, you should ensure that every main idea is extended with more detailed explanations and fully supported examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear central topic. Each paragraph has a discernible focus, moving logically from the introduction to benefits, drawbacks, and a conclusion. However, cohesion at times feels a bit mechanical or faulty. For example, referencing within and across sentences is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in "resulting from drivers when they are fatigued due to long hours of driving trucks can also be minimized." Transitional devices are used, but they could be applied more flexibly to ensure smoother progression. To achieve a higher band, you need to ensure that cohesive devices are managed more skillfully and that referencing remains consistently unambiguous throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully conveying your message regarding autonomous transport. You attempt less common vocabulary items, such as "geriatric population," "quadriplegia," and "accountability," which demonstrates a reasonable breadth of lexical resource. However, there are some word-choice and spelling errors that prevent a higher score, such as writing "verly" instead of "very" and "indiduals" instead of "individuals." Additionally, phrases like "tailor means to appropriately handle" lack complete naturalness in collocation. To reach a higher level, you should aim for greater precision in word choice, minimize spelling inaccuracies, and integrate a wider range of sophisticated, less common lexical items more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the essay, utilizing structures such as conditional-like statements and subordinate clauses effectively. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede communication. For instance, there is a minor error with pluralisation and article usage in phrases like "driverless car, buses and other vehicles" and a punctuation slip in "similarly, those with cognitive issues." Furthermore, sentence boundary issues occasionally surface, such as comma splices or slightly run-on structures. To progress to the next band, you should aim for a higher frequency of error-free sentences while maintaining a wide variety of complex structures and exercising tighter control over punctuation.

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

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