Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-10

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)

In recent years, a growing number of people have chosen to restrict or entirely stop air travel. Although this shift creates certain drawbacks for individuals and businesses, I believe the environmental benefits far outweigh these disadvantages.

On the one hand, reducing air travel poses noticeable challenges for personal convenience and commerce. For individuals, relying less on flights means spending more time commuting using land transportation or missing out on international vacations and family reunions. For business face-to-face interactions with global clients become restricted, which can slow down negotiations and harm international partnerships. industries heavily dependent on global travel, such as tourism, may experience financial losses.

environmental advantages of reducing flights are crucial for the planet’s future. Aviation is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, significantly contributing to global warming. By choosing to fly less, individuals directly lower their carbon footprint, which helps climate change and reduce air pollutionmodern communication technology, such as video conferencing tools, has proven to be an effective alternative for corporate meetings, showing that physical travel is no longer always necessary for business operations.

Iwhile restricting air travel may cause inconvenience for personal trips and present minor for international business, the positive impact on the is far more important. Preserving global ecosystems and combating climate change should take priority over individual and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the drawbacks for individuals and businesses. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which severely limits the depth of the arguments. While you clearly state your position in the introduction and maintain it throughout, the supporting ideas are underdeveloped. For instance, the point regarding business interactions is mentioned but not fully explored with specific examples. Because the essay is only 218 words, it fails to meet the length requirement, which prevents a full development of the task. To improve, you must expand your body paragraphs with more detailed explanations and concrete examples to reach the word count.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'Although', which help guide the reader. However, the flow is occasionally disrupted by missing words or abrupt transitions, such as the start of the final paragraph ('Iwhile restricting...'). The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the lack of length makes the progression of ideas feel somewhat rushed. To achieve a higher band, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that you use a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'greenhouse gas emissions', 'carbon footprint', and 'global partnerships'. However, there are instances of missing words or awkward phrasing, such as 'helps climate change' (which should be 'helps combat climate change') and 'present minor for international business' (where a noun is missing). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your word choices are grammatically integrated into your sentences.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt to use complex sentences, there are several grammatical errors, including missing words ('present minor for international business') and incomplete sentences ('Iwhile restricting...'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly in the final paragraph. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to affect the overall clarity of the writing. To improve, focus on proofreading your work to ensure that every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and pay closer attention to sentence boundaries and word order.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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