Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-06
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 5.5)
Some individuals try to minimize the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether. Although there are some benefits of reducing the number of flying, I do not think that the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses.
Firstly, even though flying transports have a concerning issue related to environment, there are a lot of issues whose play a vital role in pollution, such as, deforestation, burning of fossil fuels, emission of carbon-di-oxide. Besides, individuals use plane for their personal and business purposes.
People use airplanes to reduce the overall cost and timing. Although in domestic flying, the cost sometime very high compared with other transports, it saves a lot of time, which can be used in other productive ways.
Normally, it is rare to use flying for amusement or any recreational reasons. Most of situation, planes are used for emergency. For example, if someone needs to reach from one country to another country, they must go by any airplane, which is almost impossible in other way. That's way, it is very convenient in terms of saving costs and timing, as well as personal and businesses needs.
On the other sides, using flying transports have some disadvantages in terms of environmental pollution. Plans release carbon-di-oxide which is very harmful to our environment. Moreover, plans need to use much fuels to run, which can effect on deficiency of fossil fuels.
Some people have decided to reduce the number of times they fly alone or altogether. Although it has some benefits or should be done by individuals , it is a mandatory part of our life. So, its benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages for individuals' needs and businesses purposes.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the disadvantages of reducing air travel outweigh the benefits. However, the development of ideas is limited. While you mention environmental concerns and the necessity of air travel for emergencies and business, the arguments lack depth and specific examples. For instance, the claim that flying is 'rarely for amusement' is a generalization that could be challenged, and the discussion on fossil fuels is quite brief. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations and concrete examples to support your claims, ensuring that both sides of the argument are explored with greater analytical rigor.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Besides', and 'On the other sides'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and some transitions feel abrupt. For example, the jump from discussing environmental issues to personal travel needs could be smoother. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'there are a lot of issues whose play a vital role', where the relative pronoun usage disrupts the logical flow. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words will help create a more natural progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your main points. You use some topic-specific terms like 'fossil fuels', 'environmental pollution', and 'carbon-di-oxide'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and awkward phrasing, such as 'flying transports' instead of 'air travel' or 'aviation', and 'effect on deficiency' instead of 'contribute to the depletion'. There is also some repetition of basic vocabulary. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and a wider range of academic vocabulary to express your ideas more fluently and accurately.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt to use complex sentences with 'although' and 'if', there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'plans release' instead of 'planes release'), incorrect article usage, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'Most of situation, planes are used'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and sentence structure will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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