Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-26

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)

It is often argued that one day all transport modes will operate without human. The only citizens travelling inside these vehicles will be straphangers. I believe that there are many advantages of driverless transportation such as companies will gain benefits from this revolution and also the public will pay low fares. However, there are many disadvantages of this revolution which outweigh the advantages of this technology.

To begin with, the technology used in cars, buses and trucks who will replace human drivers have many benefits toward general populace and owners of these transportation modes. The general populace will experience low fares through this technology. It will give certain benefits to owners of tranport businesses. The cost goes towards the staffing of a transport will be reduced. It will offer more profit to the transport businesses.

On the other hand, when the transport vehicle will operate without human drivers, it will experience certain problems and will lead to more accidents. The robots used in these vehicles may face some systematic problems while driving and this will lead towards disastrous accidents. More and more will suffer from deaths through these accidents. Moreover, these vehicles will operate under certain weather conditions. So under extreme weather

conditions these vehicles could not be able to operate. So the straphangers will face inconvience in their schedules.

In this way, disadvantages outweigh the certain advantages of this future technology. Because it leads towards the damage of human beings. So it is very devastating.

In conclusion, although driverless vehicles offer benefits to businesses but it puts the human in danger and which evetually leads them to death.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear answer to the question: the conclusion that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages is stated in the introduction and repeated at the end. You also address both sides, identifying lower fares and reduced staffing costs as benefits, and accident risks and weather-related disruption as drawbacks. However, the ideas are only partly developed. For example, you claim that automated systems may cause “disastrous accidents” and deaths, but do not explain how likely this is or provide a relevant example. The weather point is also asserted rather than supported. To strengthen the response, explain the mechanisms behind these risks and weigh them more explicitly against the financial benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical or unclear. In the disadvantages paragraph, the move from system problems to deaths and then weather is abrupt, while repeated “So” sentences make the links feel basic. The final paragraph also repeats the position without adding a clear synthesis. Use more precise links to show cause and contrast, and organise each body paragraph around one main idea that is explained and supported.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “driverless transportation,” “staffing,” “systematic problems,” and “extreme weather,” and the main meaning is generally understandable. There is also an attempt to use more formal phrasing. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “straphangers” for passengers, “benefits toward” the public, and “damage of human beings.” Spelling errors such as “tranport” and “inconvience” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural collocations and precise terms rather than unusual wording: for example, refer to “passengers,” “benefits for the public,” and “harm to people.” This would make your argument clearer and more appropriate in tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “The robots used in these vehicles may face some systematic problems while driving” and a concession in the conclusion. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “all transport modes will operate without human” is missing a suitable noun after “human,” while “The cost goes towards the staffing of a transport will be reduced” has an unclear clause structure. There are also problems with verb forms and agreement in “when the transport vehicle will operate” and “it puts the human in danger and which eventually leads them to death.” Practise building accurate clauses and checking subject–verb relationships before adding complexity.

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