Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-11

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 5.5)

A few people around the globe are trying to reduce or completely stop flying . There has been a considerable debate about this topic as some belive that it would be beneficial for the ecosystem while others argue that it would be a huge loss for the tourism industry.

To begin, Airlines like Qutar and Air India has established a full-blown bussiness empire of themselves. A reduction in the number of people flying would cost them significantly. These airlines not only provide employement to thousand of individuals, but also contribute to the economy of the nations. Crew members are completely dependent on tourism for their income. Other than this, Countries like UAE and Thailand show heavy dependence on tourism. Every year millions of people visit these countries as they are the ideal travel destination and bring funds in these nations as a part of recreation.

Furthurmore, Exchange of cultural values and methods also takes place when people travel around the world. New believes and ideologies can be learnt while travelling. To cite an example, Yoga has now reached every part of the wolrd, but intially it emerged from India. Tourist came from the other parts of the world and explored the Indian techniques, and then made it acessible for the rest of the world. Another example to mention here would be, the health and skin secrets from Asian countries like Japan and Korea. Multi-national companies from Europe and America are now trying to make korean skincare products.

On the other hand, People argue that flying takes up tons of our natural resources like fuel and water everyday. These resources could be used in other more important things like generating electricity etc. Additionally, lesser flying would assist travellers to explore their own country well. Every year thousand of Indians go to international destinations like New-York and London, whereas, most of them have not even been to half of the places in their own home country.

To conclude, Air travel has many benefits to the commercials and countries but can exploit the nature.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss disadvantages for airlines, workers, and tourism-dependent countries, and you also mention environmental costs and the possibility of exploring domestic destinations. However, the central question is whether environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and your position is not clearly established or sustained. The conclusion says air travel has benefits but “can exploit the nature,” without deciding which side is more important. Some supporting points, such as cultural exchange and the spread of yoga and skincare, are relevant to travel generally but are not clearly connected to the consequences of reducing flights. To strengthen the response, state your judgement directly in the introduction and conclusion, then compare the scale of environmental gains with the specific costs to individuals and businesses.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs presenting disadvantages, a paragraph on environmental concerns, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin,” “Furthermore,” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the broad direction of the argument. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and the relationship between ideas is not always clear. For example, the paragraph about cultural exchange follows the discussion of tourism businesses but does not explain how reduced flying would affect that exchange or how this weighs against environmental benefits. The final paragraph also introduces domestic travel without linking it clearly to the overall comparison. Use topic sentences that connect each paragraph to the question, and add clearer transitions between examples and your judgement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “tourism industry,” “natural resources,” “cultural values,” and “international destinations.” These choices make the main ideas understandable, and you attempt more specific expressions such as “heavy dependence on tourism.” However, inaccurate spelling and word choice are noticeable, including “belive,” “bussiness,” “employement,” “Furthurmore,” and “acessible.” Some collocations are also unnatural: “a full-blown business empire of themselves” and “exploit the nature” do not express your meaning precisely. Aim for accurate, natural combinations and proofread spelling. More precise terms such as “carbon emissions,” “tourism revenue,” and “environmental damage” would also help you explain the comparison more directly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while,” “whereas,” and “when.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “Airlines … has established” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “provide employement to thousand of individuals” needs a plural form after “thousand.” In “Every year millions of people visit these countries … and bring funds in these nations,” the sentence structure and reference are awkward, making the relationship between the ideas less clear. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as in “People” after “On the other hand.” Review agreement, plural forms, and sentence boundaries, then check that longer sentences express one clear relationship between their clauses.

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