Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In the contemporary era, few individuals made a decision to reduce the frequency of their flights or to stop getting on planes. While, some argue that this has some negative impacts , I personally believe that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

On the one hand, there are many compelling advantages of reducing the number of times you travel through air. Some people travel through flights very often to communicate from one place to another. This in turn can promote air pollution and increase carbon emissions in the atmosphere resulting in the release of greenhouse gases and exploitation of natural resources like diesel and petroleum. Although, travelling through planes is quicker and efficient , it is also harmful to the surroundings. Alternatives like communicating through electric vehicles such as cars, buses can be helpful because these vehicles do not release toxic gases in the air and do not pollute the environment therby combating global warming

On the one hand, restricting air travel creates notable challenges. For individuals, flying is often the most efficient and sometimes only way to visit family overseas, pursue international education, or experience different cultures. Reducing flights can lead to isolation or inconvenience. For businesses, air travel remains prominent for face-to-face interactions, expanding into new markets, and managing global supply markets . Furthermore, industries heavily rely on air travel, such as international tourism and risk financial losses. In addition, there are also job losses for people working in aviation such as pilots, air hostess , aeronautical engineers and so on

In conclusion, I believe that these positive implications outweigh the negatives in combating climate change and nurturing the environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, presenting a clear position that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, covering both the environmental impact of air travel and the socio-economic consequences for individuals and businesses. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding electric vehicles as an alternative to air travel is not fully logical, as electric vehicles cannot replace long-haul international flights. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced arguments and concrete examples, such as mentioning specific industries or the impact of video conferencing technology as a viable substitute for business travel.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. There is a logical progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. For example, the use of 'On the one hand' twice to introduce two different body paragraphs is incorrect; the second paragraph should have used a contrasting transition like 'On the other hand'. Additionally, some transitions between sentences are abrupt, which slightly hinders the flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'carbon emissions', 'greenhouse gases', and 'global supply markets'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'communicate from one place to another' (instead of 'travel') and 'air hostess' (which is dated; 'flight attendant' is the modern standard). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary and ensure that your word choices are precise and contextually appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. For example, there are issues with article usage ('the atmosphere', 'the surroundings'), incorrect comma placement, and minor subject-verb agreement errors ('few individuals made a decision'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are noticeable throughout the text. To achieve a higher score, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and aim to use a wider variety of complex sentence structures with greater precision.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.