Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people have decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether.

Do you think the environmental benefits of this development outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses?

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

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Some people take conscious decision to reduce the frequency of flights they take every year and prefer to use other means of transportation. In my opinion, the advantages caused by this decision cannot outweigh the disadvantages for individual and businesses and I will discuss both the pros and cons of this decision in my essay.

The decision to reduce the number of flights taken by an individual can cause benefits in a number of different ways. It can be beneficial for the environment on a very small scale by reducing the amount of contaminants released by the aeroplanes and improving the quality of air index. Furthermore, it can be a way to reduce the fatalities caused by the plane crash as its frequency has accelerated in recent times. But this reasoning cannot avoid the environmental hazards and the fatalities caused by the use of other means of transportation.

The advantages caused by the avoidance of taking flights cannot outweigh the disadvantages at the environmental or economic level. When the people avoid boarding on planes, they use other vehicles like cars, motorbikes, buses or even trains rigrously and all these together can add a number of hazardious contaminants in the air, giving rise to different airborne diseases. At the economic level, a number of different individuals including international travel agents, flight attendants, pilots or aeronautical engineers can lose their jobs thus increasing the burden on the economy. The international or national companies can suffer financially as avoiding air travel will increase their travel time by many folds and will eventually make international trade or colloboration impossible.

Overall, the individuals and businesses can struggle financially or economically by the decision to avoid air travel and the small scale environmental benefits caused by this avoidance cannot makeup for the above mentioned losses in the long run.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you argue that reducing air travel’s environmental benefits do not outweigh the costs to people and businesses. You address both sides, noting reduced aircraft emissions and possible effects on employment and international trade. However, some points are less fully developed than others. The environmental case against your position—that other transport may also pollute—is asserted broadly, without comparing emissions or explaining when alternatives would replace flights. The claim about plane-crash fatalities is also not clearly connected to the environmental question and is unsupported. To strengthen the response, explain the scale and conditions of the benefits and disadvantages, and support key claims with a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, the body paragraphs present the environmental and economic arguments, and the conclusion restates your position. Ideas generally progress in a logical order, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “But,” and “Overall” help guide the reader. This already gives the essay a coherent arrangement. At times, however, the connections between claims are not fully clear: the discussion of plane-crash fatalities interrupts the environmental argument, and the final body paragraph moves quickly from alternative transport to jobs and then international trade. Use clearer topic sentences and develop one main line of reasoning at a time; more precise referencing would also make links between ideas easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “contaminants,” “airborne diseases,” “international trade,” and “aeronautical engineers.” These choices help communicate the environmental and economic dimensions of the issue, and the meaning is generally clear. There are, however, some inaccurate word choices, collocations, and spelling errors that reduce precision. For example, “quality of air index” is not a natural expression, “use other vehicles … rigorously” does not convey the intended meaning, and “hazardious” and “colloboration” are misspelled. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms for emissions and the effects of reduced air travel would also help you express comparisons clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “when,” “as,” and “thus,” and most sentences remain understandable. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For instance, “take conscious decision” needs an article, while “for individual and businesses” has inconsistent number. In “the fatalities caused by the plane crash as its frequency has accelerated,” the reference of “its” is unclear and the clause is awkwardly formed. The long sentence beginning “When the people avoid boarding on planes” also combines several claims, making grammatical control harder to maintain. Review article use and singular/plural agreement, and divide long sentences where needed.

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