Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-30
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 recent years, air pollution has become a subject of intense debate in modern society. While some people believe that aircrafts are the most prominent reason of that issue and they have decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether, I firmly believe that there are many other reasons why this is happening and just stop flying is not a correct decision. This essay will discuss the reasons why the environmental benefits of this development does not outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses.
On the one hand, nowadays, our world is facing many environmental issues from which air pollution is the most prominent one there are many causes of it such as it affects our lungs and other parts. Moreover, There are many reasons why air pollution increases day by day one of them is aircraft which releases smoke and other chemicals in the air which affects air quility index and the air becomes polluted.
On the other hand, there are many other factors which contributes in air pollution and are the more dangerous than aeroplanes; they are factories which directly produces chemicals in the air and polluted the air which resulted in high air quality index. Furthermore, a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in year 2026 explained itself that 80% of the air pollution is caused solely by factories because they directly release chemicals in the air.
In conclusion, from my perspective taking a decision to reduce the number of times we fly every year or to stop flying altogether is not the right decision as it is detrimental for individuals and business persons who have to travel for educational and business purposses. Moreover, Government should take notice against factories and work on other factors which causes pollution.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt but fails to fully explore the core tension of the question. While you mention that the benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages, the argument is underdeveloped. You focus heavily on blaming factories rather than discussing the specific trade-offs for individuals (e.g., loss of cultural exchange, personal freedom) or businesses (e.g., global trade, international meetings). The position is clear, but the supporting ideas lack depth and specific examples related to the prompt's focus on flying. To improve, ensure you directly address the 'environmental benefits' versus 'disadvantages' balance rather than shifting the focus entirely to industrial pollution.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses basic cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'In conclusion' to structure the response. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed. For example, the second paragraph jumps from air pollution to lung health without a clear link. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow within paragraphs is often repetitive or lacks logical transitions. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and some sentences are run-on, which hinders the overall readability. Using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensuring each sentence logically follows the previous one would improve the score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'air pollution' and 'the air,' which limits the sophistication of your writing. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'business persons' (instead of 'business people' or 'professionals') and 'purposses' (spelling error). To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental science and international travel, and focus on using synonyms to avoid repetition.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'factors which contributes'), incorrect pluralization (e.g., 'aircrafts'—aircraft is usually uncountable), and punctuation errors. Some sentences are overly long and lack correct clause structure, such as 'there are many causes of it such as it affects our lungs.' To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like articles, verb tenses, and plural forms.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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