Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-07

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 6.5)

Many people nowadays are deciding to either decrease the number of times they travel by air or completely avoid it. In my opinion, this will improve environmental conditions immensely as it will reduce the emissions, but it can also pose a threat for businesses and can turn out to be disadvantageous for the individuals

If people avoid or stop to travel by air, it will cause great loss to businesses . Airline companies will get bankrupt which will force them to close down. Many companies will compensate for the loss by increasing their ticket prices. As a result of which people from low income backgrounds will find it difficult to travel by a plane. Additionally, if an emergency occurs, people will be left with no choice but to pay for the high price. Take, for example, when people from India stopped travelling by planes due to safety issues, prices reached their peak and majority of the people could not afford it.

On the other hand, if the number of planes flying decreases, it will create a positive impact on the environment. The pollution levels will decrease, as the gas emissions released from the airplanes will reduce. This, in turn, will be beneficial for the environment because concentration of carbon and other pollutants will decline, which will greatly affect the climate change and also the air, water, and soil quality. Thereby, improving life of everyone across the globe from people to animals

In conclusion, even though the decision of avoiding travel by the airplanes can cause problems for companies and people, but I believe the number of advantages for the environment exceeds the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view: reducing flights benefits the environment, and you conclude that these benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The environmental paragraph gives relevant effects, including lower emissions and improvements to air, water and soil quality. You also identify possible costs for airlines and travellers. However, the business impact is mainly presented as airlines going bankrupt, without considering how businesses that rely on air travel might adapt or be affected. The example about travel from India is also difficult to connect clearly to the wider argument. To strengthen the response, explain these points more precisely and develop the comparison of environmental gains against individual and business costs in greater depth. The position and relevant ideas are clear, but development is uneven.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, a paragraph on environmental benefits, and a conclusion. The contrast marker “On the other hand” helps signal the shift, while “As a result” and “This, in turn” show relationships between ideas. This gives the essay a coherent progression. Some connections are less smooth or precise, however. The sentence beginning “Thereby, improving life…” is a fragment and does not connect cleanly to the preceding explanation. The conclusion’s “even though … but” also makes the relationship between the clauses awkward. Improve cohesion by linking these ideas in complete sentences and using references that make the cause-and-effect relationships explicit, rather than relying mainly on familiar linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “emissions,” “pollution levels,” “low income backgrounds,” and “concentration of carbon and other pollutants.” These choices make the main points understandable, and some topic-specific language helps explain the environmental argument. There are also several imprecise or unnatural expressions: “great loss to businesses,” “stop to travel by air,” and “the climate change” do not sound fully natural in context. “The high price” is vague when referring to airfares, and “the number of advantages” is less idiomatic than a direct comparison of benefits and disadvantages. Aim for more precise collocations and avoid repeating general terms such as “people” and “environment.” This would make the argument more fluent and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional clauses such as “If people avoid or stop to travel by air” and a cause-and-effect sentence beginning “This, in turn.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are noticeable. For example, “stop to travel” should use a different verb pattern, and “Thereby, improving life…” is a sentence fragment. In the conclusion, “even though … but” combines two contrasting structures unnecessarily. There are also issues with articles and number, as in “by a plane” and “majority of the people.” Work on complete sentence construction, verb patterns, and punctuation around clauses. Greater control of these forms would make your varied sentence structures more accurate.

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