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)

Some people are choosing to fly less frequently or avoid air travel altogether in an effort to protect the environment. While this trend may create certain disadvantages for individuals and businesses, I believe that its environmental benefits outweigh these drawbacks.

Although reducing air travel can limit convenience and create difficulties for international businesses, the long-term environmental benefits are more significant because aviation is a major source of carbon emissions. The most significant advantage of reducing air travel is its positive impact on the environment. As aeroplanes consumes large amount of fossil fuels, which produces substantial greenhouse emissions. Therefore, the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere can be reduced. For instances, travelling short-haults flights and trains could significantly reduce down emissions and save it.

From other perspectives, considering several drawbacks. Inidividuals travels in aeroplanes so it would be less time efficient, while businesses are much more important for them, as international companies need people to attend their meetings in physical with globalised employements. Reducing business flights my damage to companies and it consumes longer distances. For tourisms, especially consists of thousands of tourists every day to travel for longer flights to foreign countries. Such as hotels, restaurants may lose the visitors to visit them. This could reduce employment and revenue in tourism-dependent areas.

In conclusion, although reducing air travel may cause inconvenience for individuals and create challenges for businesses, I believe that the environmental benefits are more significant. Lower carbon emissions and reduced pollution can contribute to a healthier and more sustainable future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, though the development is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding environmental impact is clear, but the section on business and tourism is slightly underdeveloped and lacks specific, concrete examples to fully support the claims. While the position is consistent throughout, the explanation of the 'disadvantages' could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is focused and maintains a clear stance, fulfilling the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Although,' 'Therefore,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'From other perspectives, considering several drawbacks.' Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences within the second paragraph is somewhat disjointed. While the progression of ideas is generally logical, the use of cohesive devices could be more sophisticated and varied to improve the overall flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'carbon emissions,' 'greenhouse emissions,' and 'sustainable future.' However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'globalised employements' and 'consists of thousands of tourists... to travel.' Some collocations are also imprecise, such as 'reduce down emissions.' While the range is sufficient to convey meaning, the lack of precision and occasional errors in word formation prevent the response from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('aeroplanes consumes'), incorrect preposition usage ('attend their meetings in physical'), and awkward sentence construction ('Reducing business flights my damage to companies'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure lacks the consistent control required for a higher band. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors indicates a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of complex sentence formation.

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