Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-11

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)

One of the most recent trends of the modern world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people who travel by airways, this has led to people deciding to flying to few times an year and even to stop it totally. In this essay, I will discuss why I partly agree with these decisions.

To commence with, there are numerous advantages to, why human beings should travel less via air. At the heart of the matter, the biggest advantage will be saving the environment, as airplane burns thousands and millions of liters of fuel annually leading to release of carbon dioxide which harms environment. Due to the carbon emission by airways, it is necessary that people understand that, they should only travel when needed. This could result in saving environment vastly which will help human beings in long term.

For instance, flying from India to United Kingdom leads to carbon emission that is equivalent to hundreds of cars burning fuel, which may lead to environmental crisis in the future.

On the contrary, several people in the society claims that it can lead to weaken the development of individuals and companies. Majorly, it shouldn't be affecting them as there is internet available nowadays that can help them communicate and virtually meet using online services, also helping them close deals with each other online. However, making this happen can be very difficult as goods/products have to be shipped abroad but I think this is also necessary for the evolution of human beings. Even doing these types of small gestures lead to saving environment greatly.

In conclusion, I have a strong belief that reducing the number of times to fly every year is going to benefit the environment, moreover ultimately leading to impact on mankind indirectly in a good way.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. However, the position is slightly inconsistent; the introduction states you 'partly agree' with the decision to stop flying, but the body paragraphs focus more on the necessity of reducing flights rather than weighing the specific disadvantages in depth. While the environmental argument is clear, the discussion regarding businesses is somewhat superficial. To reach a higher band, ensure that the disadvantages are explored with the same level of detail as the advantages, providing a more balanced evaluation of the trade-offs involved.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'For instance', and 'On the contrary' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as in the phrase 'making this happen can be very difficult', where the antecedent is not clearly defined. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the flow between the environmental benefits and the business implications could be smoother to improve the overall coherence of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing for clear communication. You use some topic-specific terms like 'carbon emission' and 'upsurge'. However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and collocation errors, such as 'flying to few times an year' (should be 'flying fewer times a year') and 'saving environment vastly'. The range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Incorporating more sophisticated collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing would significantly enhance your lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the environment', 'the United Kingdom'), subject-verb agreement ('several people... claims'), and prepositional usage. For example, 'airplane burns' should be 'airplanes burn' or 'an airplane burns'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some comma splices present. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy will help improve your performance.

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

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