Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-13

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)

n the contemporary world, numerous people refer to travelling by air. Some people believe that they should reduce the number of times they fly every year or stop flying altogether. This small step can help them to save their money and time for travelling purposes. I firmly agree that environmental advantages are more than the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. My viewpoint is explained further in the ensuing paragraphs.

To justify my stance of the environmental merits, one key point is that, it has a great impact on the atmosphere by reducing the number of times travelling on flights. The main reason is that the demand for the air travelling will decrease that often leads to a drop in the consumption of fuel. As a result, the air pollution can be controlled effectively. Furthermore, the importance of manufacturing of a plane will reduce. For that it minimises the effect of poisonous metal which often cause soil pollution because the spear parts are not biodegradable. For instance, when the plane is not used anymore, it is the waste. The demand will decrease so that pollution can reduce significantly.

Another significant aspect is that, the noise of flights creates severe damage to the birds and animals. As a result, bio-diversity can take advantage of it. For instance, many mammals have a fear of the huge noise. This can help them to survive.

However, it cannot be denied that, the effects of this trend have a negative impact on businesses. One major aspect is that, the economy will be impacted dramatically.

In conclusion, although the negative effect on the economy becomes worse, the effect on environment has significant benefits. Environmental advantages of air, noise and soil pollution have a great chance to recover as well as biodiversity also face positive impacts towards this trend.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed the prompt by taking a clear position, but the development of your ideas is uneven. While you discuss environmental benefits, the arguments regarding the disadvantages for individuals and businesses are significantly under-developed. For example, you mention that the economy will be impacted, but you do not explain how or why this happens. To reach a higher band, you need to provide more specific examples and logical explanations for both sides of the argument. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesize the points made in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly unnatural. Phrases like 'To justify my stance of the environmental merits' and 'Another significant aspect is that' are used to transition, but the logical flow between sentences within paragraphs is sometimes disjointed. For instance, the jump from fuel consumption to the manufacturing of planes feels abrupt. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would improve the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'bad', or 'impact', and there are some awkward collocations, such as 'refer to travelling by air' and 'spear parts' (likely meaning 'spare parts'). While your meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and you struggle to use less common lexical items accurately. Focusing on learning topic-specific collocations related to the environment and economics would be very beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include incorrect article usage ('the importance of manufacturing of a plane'), subject-verb agreement, and awkward phrasing ('the effect on environment has significant benefits'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like missing articles and incorrect preposition use.

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

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