Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-29

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 6.0)

A proportion of people think that they should alleviate their traveling annually or stop flying together. I think people are concerned about the environmental hazards due to which they want to take such initiative which can be beneficial. I agree with this stance as the advantages of this step outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses that we will get by taking such step.

On the one hand, huge number of people travel across the world by air for spending vacations, business commitments and employment purposes. It's their basic requirement that has to be fulfilled under all circumstances. For instance, many people live abroad for job or study purposes and want to return to their hometowns to meet their families when they are on vacations. Similarly, people tend to get rid of the hustle and bustle for a while with their families and for that purpose, they travel across the world to ease their minds which helps them function well in normal routine.

On the other hand, a large sum of people travel by air on daily basis which gives rise to elevated air traffic. This traffic accounts for air pollution by producing harmful toxins such as carbon monoxide in the air. Subsequently, the air quality index is decreasing day by day which is a delicate matter of concern. Nowadays, the access to other countries is so easy; so, people travel more unnecessarily which should be avoided. Moreover, in this era of technology, business meetings can be scheduled online instead of holding them in on-site settings to avoid extra traveling. Also, if traveling together isn't necessary, avoiding it will also lead to reduced air traffic per day.

Conclusively, people should be cautious about this issue as their excess traveling is adversely impacting the environment. However, I believe flying is a necessity too; nevertheless, it should be done with moderation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, discussing both the necessity of travel for personal/business reasons and the environmental impact of air traffic. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the discussion on 'business commitments' could be more deeply explored by mentioning specific economic impacts or the shift toward remote work. While the position is consistent, the conclusion is slightly contradictory, as it acknowledges the necessity of flying while simultaneously advocating for moderation, which could have been integrated more smoothly into the main body paragraphs to strengthen the overall argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sides of the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' 'Moreover,' and 'Conclusively' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing and flow. For example, the phrase 'that we will get by taking such step' in the introduction is slightly awkward and impacts the overall cohesion. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'alleviate,' 'hustle and bustle,' and 'adversely impacting.' However, there are also instances of imprecise word choice or slightly unnatural collocations, such as 'alleviate their traveling' (which should be 'reduce') and 'large sum of people' (which should be 'large number of people'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band score. Expanding the range of topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental science or aviation would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a reasonable level of control over grammar, and most sentences are understandable. However, there are several grammatical slips and awkward phrasings, such as 'stop flying together' (should be 'altogether'), 'take such initiative' (should be 'take such an initiative'), and 'traveling together isn't necessary' (which is confusing in context). Punctuation is generally correct, but the sentence structure could be more varied to demonstrate higher proficiency. The errors present are non-systematic and do not significantly impede the reader's understanding of the main points.

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

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