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)
A few individuals have decided to decease the frequency of flying in a year or completely avoid them. According to me, I agree with this view that the environmental benefit outweigh the negative impacts caused by it for individuals and businesses.
Airways are a very popular means of transport in recent times. It has been helping people in various ways. Firstly, Most of them travel to meet their family members in abroad who live there for education or for income sources. Secondly, people travel to different destinations for vacations. This can be the easiest mode to commute between countries within short period of time. For instance, if we wish to travel abroad which is very distant from the place where we live; in this situation airplane becomes first priority as it takes long via road or water. Lastly, people in the field of business can travel long distances in no time which builds strong partnership with investors or partners.
This requirements can only be fulfilled by arranging many number of flights for accessibility. However, it can impact the environment severely by damaging the ecosystem. This can cause pollution, global warming, depletion of ozone layer and affect the sustainable development because of the harmful greenhouse gases released by these machines. This is becoming a huge concern as there is no long term solution for these issues. A recent survey suggests that hundreds of airplane are contributing to almost one-fourth of the pollution today.
Therefore, airways are making people's life comfortable. On the other hand, they are effecting the nature negatively. So, I believe the disadvantages of this overweigh the advantages. Hence, I support the opinion of reducing the number of time we fly per year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing arguments for both the benefits and disadvantages of flying. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the discussion on business travel is brief and lacks specific examples of how the environmental impact might be mitigated or why the trade-off is particularly difficult. While a position is clear, the conclusion contains a contradiction: the introduction states that environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages, but the final paragraph states that the disadvantages of flying outweigh the advantages, which confuses the reader regarding your final stance. To improve, ensure your position remains consistent throughout and expand on the 'why' behind your arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'However', and 'Therefore', which help guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly forced. The referencing is generally clear, though the link between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother to better contrast the benefits of travel with the environmental costs. The overall progression of ideas is logical, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be more sophisticated to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors. For example, 'decease the frequency' is incorrect (decease means to die; you meant 'decrease'), and 'meet their family members in abroad' is grammatically awkward. Phrases like 'arranging many number of flights' and 'effecting the nature' (should be 'affecting') also indicate a limited control over collocations and word forms. To improve, focus on learning word families and common collocations, and proofread to ensure you are using the correct word for the intended meaning.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'I agree with this view that the environmental benefit outweigh' (subject-verb agreement), 'hundreds of airplane' (pluralization), and 'in no time which builds' (missing comma). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of semicolons and commas. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Increasing the variety of complex structures while focusing on accuracy in basic grammar would improve your score.
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.