Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Nowadays, travelling is become very simple as compared to the past, and from all means of travelling, flight is very convenient in all way of going, from one to another place. Although some persons have made their mind to lessen the time, they spent in fly across the year. In my opinion, its benefits effect the environment in positive way, more than their drawbacks in their profession.

Firstly, most of the affluent people travel whole year for their easiness, rather then for their business motives. For instance, opulent persons choose to travel by air only for their comfort. Most the time, it is not necessary to travel from air. They are various options available for them, like to utilize public transportation or electrical trains and electric vehicles. If they will start to pick these options, there will be many advantages for our nature.

Moreover, we are living in automation era, wealthy people can also decide the method of online meetings, which will reduce overall consumption of fossil fuels. For example, When are growth in the numbers of rich individuals, those consider other ways rather than using flight option. Then it effect the nature greatly, because usage of carbon fuel will decline in near future. Air quality will get better and better across the globe.

However, there are slightly detriments for people business, but they can improve their business by using other different paths of this digital era. So in my opinion if air travel is very necessary than you should go by planes, otherwise many options are there for you. And in this way nature gets many benefits, by reducing the numbers of flights.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the environmental benefits and the impact on individuals and businesses. However, the development is somewhat superficial. While you state your opinion clearly, the arguments regarding 'affluent people' and 'online meetings' are repetitive and lack depth. The discussion on the disadvantages for businesses is very brief and lacks specific examples or logical expansion. To improve, you should provide more concrete evidence or reasoning for how businesses are specifically affected by reduced travel, rather than simply suggesting they use digital alternatives. The position is clear, but the supporting ideas need more thorough exploration to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'However' to signal transitions. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the logical progression within paragraphs is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing. For example, the transition between the idea of affluent travelers and the suggestion of electric trains is abrupt. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'those consider other ways', where the subject is not explicitly linked to the previous sentence. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clearer pronoun references would enhance the coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You use some repetitive phrasing, such as 'travel' and 'people', and there are several instances of unnatural collocations, such as 'travelling is become very simple' and 'from all means of travelling'. Some word choices are imprecise, like 'automation era' instead of 'digital age' or 'technological era'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and occasional errors in word choice limit your score. Focus on learning topic-specific collocations related to the environment and business.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('it effect the nature'), incorrect verb forms ('travelling is become'), and awkward sentence construction ('flight is very convenient in all way of going'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While you attempt complex sentences, they are often marred by errors. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement before attempting more complex grammatical forms. Proofreading for common errors like 'effect' versus 'affect' would also be beneficial.

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

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