Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-16

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 5.0)

Few individuals made a decision to reduce their plans for tourism and this leads to environmental benefits with some breakdowns in tourism markets and a disadvantage for people. In my opinion, i think this makes a sense to reduce tourism plans where it leads to environmental benefit, although having financial losses for tourism business.

On the other hand, this decisions leads a environmental benefit where people travel with several transport systems and have major issue in developing countries with cleanness. Elaborating further, this tourism plans leads to population which is lead by transport systems. In addition, majority of places in developing countries face such problems particularly with cleanness. For example, in India people are least bothered about well being where they don't use dustbins and raise these pollution issues.

On the other hand, its true that if people decide to reduce their plans, tourism market will be effected and have a major economic problems. Furthermore, by this people stop planning and booking tourism plans and some business face serious problem. For instance, businesses provide a tourism packages and take their responsibility to guide and have certain arrangements and it will be a business failure by people's decision.

In conclusion, I think people should reduce their trips with a responsibility towards environment, along with their enjoyment. In addition, this outweighs the disadvantage for individuals by reducing their plans and for their satisfaction with their dreams to visit such tourism places and people should have a positive mind set to manage all this problems.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both environmental benefits and economic disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is limited and often unclear. For instance, the argument regarding 'cleanness' in developing countries is not logically connected to the topic of air travel. The position is stated in the introduction, but the supporting arguments lack depth and coherence, often relying on vague generalizations. To improve, you should focus on providing specific, relevant examples that directly link the act of flying to the environmental impact, rather than discussing general pollution or waste management issues.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the progression of ideas is frequently disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate, such as the repetitive use of 'On the other hand' to introduce paragraphs that do not necessarily contrast with the previous one. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the logical flow of your argument. Improving the use of transition words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would significantly enhance the readability of your work.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and often repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'plans' and 'tourism'. There are several instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'breakdowns in tourism markets' and 'population which is lead by transport systems', which impede clarity. You attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the lack of precision often leads to confusion. To reach a higher band, focus on learning collocations related to environmental and economic topics and try to vary your word choice to avoid repeating the same terms throughout the essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'this decisions leads'), incorrect article usage, and awkward phrasing that makes sentences difficult to parse. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and punctuation prevents the text from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring correct tense usage would be a great starting point for improvement.

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

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