Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-10

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)

Technology in engineering has immensely advanced in the past few years. People literally upgraded from bullock carts to manual cars and now automated cars. In today's generation, we already have cars that do not need drivers. Many companies has already installed the feature of auto pilot mode which enables the drives to ride hands free.

In the near future, we might see cars, buses and trucks driven without humans actually driving. There would be no drivers, because possibly the vehicles drive on their own. This lets people rest amidst driving, which would stop over exploitation of public bus and truck drivers. This would also lead to less voilation of traffic rules.

The auto pilot mode in today's cars are only limited for a designated period of time, neglecting this would lead to fatal accidents. However, this can be fixed by modifications.

In my opinion the disadvantages should not be neglected because, people's safety is what matters the most. Yet, I think automated cars would be a very cool and efficient technology in today's world. Especially looking at the busy lifestyle the people in our generation live. i do not think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because both of them should be given equal observance, in order to fix and modify the technology. Moreover this technology is something which would thrive in this economy. This is something which people actually are looking forward to in the future and I hope this is used safely and efficiently, making this world a better place for living beings to live on.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the topic and give a position: you say the advantages do not outweigh the disadvantages, while also recognising that driverless vehicles could be efficient. You identify relevant points, including drivers being able to rest and possible reductions in traffic-rule violations, and you acknowledge the risk of fatal accidents. However, the response only partially develops the comparison the question asks for. The safety concern is mentioned but not explained with a specific mechanism or example, and the benefits are asserted rather than supported. Your position also becomes less clear when you say both sides should receive “equal observance.” To strengthen the response, state clearly which side outweighs the other and develop two or three reasons with explanations or examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: it introduces technological progress, considers possible benefits and risks, and ends with your view. Paragraph breaks help separate these stages, and linking expressions such as “However,” “Yet,” and “Moreover” show attempts to connect ideas. At times, though, the progression is difficult to follow because several points are compressed together, especially in the final paragraph, where your position shifts from prioritising safety to calling the technology efficient and then advocating equal consideration. Some links are also not precise: “neglecting this” does not clearly identify what is being neglected. Give each paragraph a clear purpose and use references and transitions that make the relationship between claims explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “automated cars,” “auto pilot mode,” “fatal accidents,” and “traffic rules,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “over exploitation” and “designated period.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural and reduce precision: “drives” appears where you mean drivers, “equal observance” does not express equal consideration, and “thrive in this economy” is unclear in this context. Spelling errors such as “voilation” are noticeable. Aim for accurate collocations and choose words that express the intended meaning directly; proofreading for spelling and word form would also improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “which enables the drives to ride hands free” and the conditional construction “neglecting this would lead to fatal accidents.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and punctuation are frequent enough to affect accuracy. For example, “Many companies has” should be “Many companies have,” and “The auto pilot mode … are” should be “The auto-pilot mode … is.” The sentence beginning “i do not think” also needs a capital letter, and the long final sentence would be clearer if divided. Review subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries, then check each sentence for a complete, correctly punctuated structure.

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

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