Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Flyinng to Travel around the world has several contribution on the environment. This made people to decrease the total number they fly annualy or to travel by other means. While this decision provide significant benefits for individuals, it also associated with drawbacks that affect the businesses.

The primary advantage of reducing or eliminating the use of fly to commute to different destination is that it substantially reduce the air pollution and improve physical health of people. When large proportion of airplan travel is non operated, it significantly decreases the green gas emissions into the atmosphere and causes a drop in the weather temperature. As ariplian consume high amount of fuels and release polluted gases, this negatively affect on people respirotary system and overall life quality. For example, a single flight that travel from Canada to the UK release high amount of gases that ultimately inhale by human, resulting in asthma and chronic obastructive pulmpnary diseases.

However, despite these benefit for citizens, this approach for addressing the ari pollution issue contribute negatively on financial growth of businesses. When people decided to trevel by eco-freindly alternative instead of using a ariplan, many corporators will face financial hardships, ecouraging them to closed their busniness and decrease in employment availability. For instance, people when avoiding travel using aircraft, the number of selling ticket will drop, thereby the financial revenue of companies will decline.

In conclusion, although avoid commuting by fly can reduce the environmental pollution and imorove individuals overall health, the significant financial drawback on companie ownerships consider the primary disadvantge for it.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both environmental benefits and economic disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention air pollution and health, the link between flight reduction and specific economic consequences for businesses is underdeveloped. The position is clear, but the arguments lack depth and specific, well-explained examples. For instance, the example of a flight from Canada to the UK is a bit vague regarding how it directly causes asthma in the general population. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully extended with logical reasoning rather than just stating the consequence. The response covers all parts of the task, but the depth of analysis is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic attempt at using cohesive devices such as 'However', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally imprecise. For example, the phrase 'this approach for addressing the ari pollution issue' is a bit clunky. While the paragraphing is appropriate and the overall progression is clear, the range of cohesive devices is limited, and some transitions feel repetitive. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

There is an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, but there are frequent spelling errors that occasionally distract the reader, such as 'Flyinng', 'annualy', 'ariplian', 'respirotary', 'obastructive', 'pulmpnary', and 'eco-freindly'. While you attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'green gas emissions' (should be 'greenhouse gas emissions') and 'financial hardships', the inaccuracies in spelling and word choice prevent the vocabulary from being considered 'sufficiently flexible'. To improve, focus on proofreading your work to catch these common spelling mistakes and work on using more precise collocations to convey your ideas more professionally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'This made people to decrease' (should be 'This has led people to decrease'), 'it also associated with' (should be 'it is also associated with'), and 'many corporators will face' (should be 'many corporations'). Subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are inconsistent. While the meaning is generally clear despite these errors, the frequency of mistakes in basic grammar structures limits the score. You should focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and the correct use of passive voice to improve your accuracy.

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

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