Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In high tech era, flying is a very convenient way to migrate from one place to other place at very long distance, which saves time and money. However, minority part of individuals made a decision to minimise the use of airways they used in whole year or stop completely. As per my perspective, demerits for individuals and businesses override merit of benefits to environment and both will be articulated in subsequent paragraphs.

At outset, there are various cons for individuals and businesses and first and foremost is rapid fall in capita per income of a nation can be seen. To describe it more, a major part of capita per income of a country depends on rich people who owns large businesses in numerous sector. Furthermore, their income is directly proportional to capita per income. For example, in India, Mukesh Ambani holds single sided businesses in India as well as in abroad. If he stops to fly for business meetings it will directly affect the income which reduce the capita per income. Moreover, second drawback is GDP will be affected as tourism plays a key role in GDP of a state and if individuals avoid travelling by aeroplane, tourism industry will face downfall.

In contrast, there are minor pros in terms of environmental benefits and major one is pollution will be less. To be more precise, a high amount of fuel emission is taken place while flying which cause harm to environment and if travelling by airways is reduced then emission of fuel will also be less.

To recapitulate, there are multiple drawbacks such as fall in capita per income and GDP, nonetheless there are few benefits like less pollution cannot be neglected.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the drawbacks for individuals and businesses. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The argument regarding 'capita per income' (GDP per capita) is repetitive and lacks depth, as it focuses heavily on a single example (Mukesh Ambani) rather than a broader economic analysis. The environmental section is also quite brief, failing to explore the complexity of the issue. While a position is clear, the supporting arguments lack the necessary extension and sophistication required for a higher band score. The response is balanced, but the analysis remains at a basic level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'At outset' and 'To describe it more'. The progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing, making the flow feel disjointed. While there is an attempt to use linking words, they are not always used with the flexibility required for higher bands. The conclusion is very brief and merely restates the points made rather than synthesising them effectively. Paragraphing is present but could be more logically balanced.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward collocations and non-standard phrasing, such as 'minority part of individuals', 'high tech era', and 'capita per income'. The student relies on basic terminology and struggles to express complex economic or environmental concepts accurately. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of word-choice errors prevent the response from reaching a higher band. More precise academic terminology would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with articles ('the tourism industry'), subject-verb agreement ('rich people who owns'), and prepositional usage ('in abroad'). Some sentences are poorly constructed, such as 'a high amount of fuel emission is taken place', which impedes clarity. While the errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable throughout the text. A greater focus on sentence structure and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy is necessary.

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