Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-25

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)

Some individuals have either reduced or completely stopped flying annually. In my opinion, I believe the drawbacks experienced by individuals and business outweigh the environmental benefits.

On the one hand, with the rise in tourism in recent years several countries have numerous self-owned businesses and major corporations that shifted their commercial goals to providing products and services for tourists. For example, in cities such as Dubai, that rely economically on tourists, many jobs have been created in the accomodation, clothing and touring industries to meet the demand created by the tourists. Therefore, the reduction of tourism can cost many individuals and business their jobs thereby affecting their ability to financially provide for themselves and their families.

On the other hand, people choosing to limit the number of times they travel by airplanes or boycotting them completely benefits the environment greatly as the toxic gas emmisions contribute to increasing climate change, air pollution and global warming. For instance, commercial flight business provide multiple trips from and to the same destinations several times in the day which harms the environment and worsens air pollution. As a result, the environmental damage caused by flights can be reduced significantly if people choose to travel by trains or coaches instead.

In conclusion, although boycotting or limiting the number of flights people take annually can benefit the environment by helping reduce air pollution, many individuals and business rely heavily on the job market created by tourism to be able to work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the economic disadvantages. However, the essay is slightly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of the arguments. While the position is clear, the development of ideas is somewhat brief. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples—for instance, by explaining the specific economic mechanisms through which tourism supports local businesses beyond just mentioning job creation. The conclusion is also quite repetitive of the introduction and could be used to synthesize the arguments more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use transition signals such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' to guide the reader. However, the cohesion is sometimes a bit mechanical. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences within paragraphs is smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the central idea of each paragraph is clearly stated at the beginning.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'commercial goals', 'boycotting', and 'economically'. There are a few minor spelling errors, such as 'accomodation' (accommodation) and 'emmisions' (emissions). To achieve a higher band, aim to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and less common lexical items related to the topic of environmental sustainability and economic impact. Your word choice is generally accurate and does not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most of your sentences are clear, though there are occasional grammatical slips, such as 'the drawbacks... outweigh' (subject-verb agreement) and 'commercial flight business provide' (should be 'businesses provide'). While you demonstrate control over basic grammar, the range of complex structures is somewhat limited. Increasing the variety of your sentence patterns, such as using more conditional or passive constructions, would help improve your score in this criterion.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.