Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-04

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)

In recent times, travelling by airplane has become a concerning issue and therefore, several citizens have made up their mind to either minimize the times of flying per year or to completely not fly, I believe that the environmental merits of this development override the demerits for people and businesses and the reasons for the same will be articulated in the subsequent paragraphs.

At the outset, there are multiple benefits of reducing to travel by air and the first and foremost is decrease in pollution-levels over the world, To explain it more, the harm to environment which is merely caused by fueling substances used to run an airplane will reduce significantly as the demand of diesel, petrol will decline and their amount which is released in air because of various reasons, causes drastic amount of air pollution which will be remarkably declined, For example, if passengers will not prefer to travel through this means of communication & it will lead to less-pollution and disturbance to nature, Moreover, if the craze for this method of commuting will be less, the demand will decrease and as a consequence, the manufacturing of such things will be lowered and the effects caused to nature during manufacturing will be lowered as no substance causing harm to environment will be used reducing the harms to nature.

On the contrary, there are various drawbacks of not flying for individuals and businesses and the major one is other ways take up plethora of time. To be more precise, flying is the only means by which people can travel larger distances in very short time and other means, consume a lot more time which may cause for loss in business and delay in reaching to important events. For instance, in case of death of a family member, a person will not be able to reach on time by other means of commuting.

To recapitulate, although there are few disadvantages of not flying for individuals and businesses such as delays and loss in business, nevertheless as per my point of view the advantages of not travelling by air to environment overpower the disadvantages like reducing pollution levels and amount of manufacturing items which harm environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, though the development is somewhat repetitive. For instance, the argument regarding 'manufacturing' in the second paragraph is slightly vague and lacks specific evidence. The discussion of disadvantages is clear but could be more nuanced; for example, the mention of 'loss in business' is a good point but is not fully explored. Overall, the response is well-structured and maintains a consistent position throughout, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0, though it leans towards 6.5 due to the lack of depth in supporting examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'At the outset', 'Moreover', and 'On the contrary', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or repetitive, and the punctuation is occasionally problematic, such as the comma splices in the second paragraph (e.g., '...over the world, To explain it more...'). While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the overuse of commas instead of full stops occasionally disrupts the flow of the argument. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'articulated', 'plethora', and 'recapitulate'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'fueling substances' instead of 'fossil fuels' or 'manufacturing of such things'. The repetition of 'nature' and 'environment' suggests a limited range of synonyms. While the meaning is never in doubt, the lexical range is sufficient for a Band 6, but lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with article usage ('the harm to environment'), prepositional phrases, and sentence boundaries. The text contains several comma splices, where independent clauses are joined incorrectly with commas rather than periods or semicolons. While the writer attempts complex structures, these are often marred by minor errors that, while not impeding communication, occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The control of punctuation is inconsistent, which affects the overall grammatical accuracy.

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.