Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-01

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)

People usually fly to spend time with their family during vacations while some fly for business purposes. Some people have decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether. It could be beneficial for environment but at the same time it could affect businesses.

On one hand, if the number of times people fly could be reduced or people stop flying altogether this will be beneficial for environment in some of the following ways : Firstly, there would be less carbon emissions in the air, less carbon dioxide and other harmful gases would be released in the air making the environment clean. Secondly, there would be less noise pollution, a lot of noise is being emitted when airplanes or aircrafts fly which adversely affect the wildlife, birds and communities. Subsequently, when there would be lesser emissions of dangerous gases in the air it means that the earth's average temperature would not rise to a dangerous extent, there would be less global warming. For instance, A lot of noise is being produced when airplanes fly over the communities which distracts the people's attention away if they are engaged in something important. Moreover, many birds and wild animals gets disturbed because of this noise, creating uneasiness among living creatures.

On the other hand, it has some disadvantages as well because individuals and businesses get impacted by reduction in the number of times people fly. First of all, the airlines would lose customers and less revenue would be generated as a result which would affect the owners of the airlines. Moreover, many international organizations would be at loss because some important meetings require face to face communication, if people would not fly then these businesses would be deeply affected as a result many individuals would face a huge loss in their businesses.

In my opinion, to reduce the number of times people fly or to stop flying altogether is not an ultimate solution however, there should be environmental protection policies that every airline must follow in order to reduce the environmental impacts caused by flying.

In conclusion, people can't stop flying for the sake of environment, they have to manage their work and businesses and for that purpose they have to fly every now and then so better policies and measurements should be taken in account in order to mitigate the consequences of flying and to not let businesses and people be at loss.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. The position is clear, although the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive. For example, the points regarding noise pollution and carbon emissions are valid, but the explanation of the disadvantages for businesses is a bit thin and could have been supported with more specific examples of how global trade or personal connections are impacted. The conclusion introduces a new idea about 'environmental policies' which is a good attempt at a nuanced position, but it slightly shifts the focus away from the original question of whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the use of cohesive devices like 'On one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Firstly/Secondly' helps guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the phrase 'as a result' is used multiple times in close proximity, which makes the flow feel slightly stilted. The referencing is generally clear, but the connection between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to create a more natural, sophisticated progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'carbon emissions', 'global warming', and 'mitigate'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'making the environment clean' or 'creating uneasiness among living creatures'. To reach a higher band, the student should aim for more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary to avoid repeating basic terms like 'fly' or 'business'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation. For example, 'many birds and wild animals gets disturbed' contains a subject-verb agreement error, and there are issues with article usage and comma splices throughout the text. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. The student should focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and refining the use of complex sentence structures to improve overall accuracy.

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

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