Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-29

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Access to clean water is a basic human right. Therefore every home should have a water supply that is provided free of charge.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Access to clean water is considered as a primary human right. Therefore many people believes that, it should be available without any charge. This essay disagrees with the view that supply of clean water should be freely available due to the scarcity of water resources and the high costs of water purification process.

The primary argument in favour of billed water access is that the limitation of clean water resources that exists in the world. Despite the fact that 2/3 of the earth is covered by water, only less than 50% of that could be potable. In addition to that rapid deforestation has resulted desertification in the areas such Amazon rainforest, which could eventually hinder the rainwater cycle - a major source of clean water. Though billing the public of their water usage won't make any difference to the above facts, it would communicate a vital information to the public stating that water is a limited resource thus needed to be protected and use with care.

Most of the water-resources in the world, need to be purified before making it available to the public use as many of them contain bacterias and toxic substances. Those purification processes involve the use of UV rays, purification chemicals, which are costly and requires continuous supervision. These costs mandate the authorities to bill the public for their usage of water.

In conclusion, though it may appear that the billing for natural resource is wrong, the limitation of water resources and high purification costs compels the authority to do so.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you disagree with free household water, citing scarcity and purification costs, and the conclusion returns to both reasons. These are relevant arguments, and the explanation that charging may signal water’s limited nature gives one idea some development. However, the response does not fully explore the claim that water is a basic right or distinguish free access to an essential amount from charging for higher consumption. The scarcity paragraph also acknowledges that billing will not change the underlying shortage, then asserts its awareness-raising value without an example or further support. Develop this reasoning and support the cost argument with a concrete illustration to make the response more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your position, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and the conclusion summarises them. The progression from scarcity to purification costs is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “In addition to that” and “In conclusion” help signal relationships. Some connections are less smooth or precise, however. “Though billing the public … won’t make any difference to the above facts” creates a contrast whose purpose is not fully explained, and “These costs” refers back to several processes without specifying which expenses matter most. The paragraphing is appropriate, but more explicit links between claims and explanations would make cohesion less dependent on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including terms such as “scarcity,” “potable,” “desertification,” “purification,” and “toxic substances.” These choices show an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary, and the main ideas remain understandable. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, though: “billing the public of their water usage,” “a vital information,” and “available to the public use” do not express the intended meaning naturally. “Water-resources” is also unnecessarily hyphenated, while “bacterias” is an incorrect plural form. Aim for accurate, natural combinations such as “charge households for water consumption” and “make water available for public use”; this would improve precision without requiring more obscure vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes both simple statements and more complex forms, including a concession clause beginning “Despite the fact that” and a relative clause in “which could eventually hinder the rainwater cycle.” Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “many people believes” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “it should be available” has an unclear pronoun reference. In “has resulted desertification,” the verb pattern is incomplete; “has resulted in desertification” is needed. There are also article and number errors in “a vital information” and “the authority,” as well as a faulty parallel structure in “needed to be protected and use with care.” Review agreement, articles, and verb patterns, then proofread complex sentences for parallel forms.

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