Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-25

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 7.5)

In recent years , a growing number of individuals have made a conscious choice to limit or completely avoid air travel. While this trend poses notable drawbacks for personal convenience and business operations, I firmly believes that the long-term environmental benefits far outweigh these disadvantages

On the one hand, reducing air travel presents clear challenges for individuals and commercial enterprises. For personal travellers, aviation offers unmatched speed and efficiency, making long-distance holidays or visiting family abroad manageable. Restricting flights can significantly hamper personal mobility and increase travel times, as land or sea alternatives are far slower. From a business perspective, international corporate trips are vital for building client relationships, attending trade shows, and managing overseas operations. Furthermore, industries heavily reliant on international tourisms—such as hospitality and local travel services—could experience reduced revenue and job losses if flight demand drops dramatically.

On the other hand, the environmental benefits of curbing air travel are profound and essentials for combating global climate change. Commercial aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides directly into the upper atmosphere. Unlike ground transportation, which is increasingly transitioning toward electrification, green technologies for long-haul commercial flights remain far from widespread implementation. Therefore, lowering flight frequencies immediately reduces carbon footprints, mitigates atmospheric warming, and helps preserve biodiversity threatened by climate disruption. Moreover, a collective shift away from flying drives investment into high-speed rail networks and accelerates the adoption of virtual meeting technologies, encouraging more sustainable long-term business models.

In conclusion, although restricting air travel imposes personal inconveniences and financial hurdles for businesses reliant on global mobility, the global threat of climate change demands decisive action. The urgent need to curb carbon emissions makes the environmental advantages of reduced flying vastly superior to the temporary drawbacks. at last i say environmental benefits are useful.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The arguments are well-developed, with specific points regarding personal mobility and business operations contrasted against the environmental impact of aviation. The ideas are extended logically, and the conclusion reinforces the main argument. The final sentence, 'at last i say environmental benefits are useful,' is somewhat redundant and simplistic compared to the rest of the essay, but it does not detract from the overall task achievement, which is strong and focused throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'Furthermore,' and 'Moreover' are used effectively to link ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the opposing viewpoints. The flow of the argument is consistent, and the relationship between the ideas is clear, making the text easy to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is precise and appropriate for an academic context. Phrases such as 'conscious choice,' 'unmatched speed,' 'commercial enterprises,' and 'mitigates atmospheric warming' demonstrate a strong command of language. There is a good range of topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental issues and business. While the final sentence is slightly informal and repetitive, the overall lexical range is sufficient to convey complex ideas with flexibility and precision, meeting the criteria for a high band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The essay displays a good variety of complex sentence structures, such as the use of subordinate clauses ('While this trend poses...', 'Unlike ground transportation, which is...'). Most sentences are error-free. There is a minor subject-verb agreement error in the introduction ('I firmly believes') and a minor punctuation/capitalization issue in the final sentence ('at last i say'). However, these are rare, non-systematic slips that do not impede communication. The control over grammar and punctuation is generally strong throughout the response.

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