Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-14

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)

An increasing number of people are choosing to limit their air travel or to give up flying all together for the sake of the environment. This decision may create some problems for both individuals and companies, however, the environmental benefits of the decrease in passenger flight far outweigh the localized costs it may cause.

On one hand,

having limitations on traveling by plane can create many problems for individuals and companies. For individuals, the only way to maintain close contact with family members across the world and to experience new cultures is by flying. Reducing the amount of people who fly can isolate individuals and/or stunt a person's desire to get out and experience new things. For companies, the decrease in flight can seriously affect their business. In today's modern world, companies ship products around the globe, sign contracts across the world, and rely on global tourism for revenue. Without the ability to send products overseas quickly, secure contracts at lower prices, and attract tourists, companies would be in dire need of a price reduction or higher profits.Nevertheless, the need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases coming from passenger flight is greater. Passenger flight is responsible for a large quantity of greenhouse gases. These gases pollute our atmosphere, especially in the upper layers. In order to prevent this from further happening, companies must limit their own flight. Unlike other forms of transportation which is slowly turning to electricity, commercial airplane has no green alternative energy source. One of the best ways to reduce the amount of gases being emitted is to reduce the amount of people flying. Having stable climates across the globe will be more beneficial than any economic gain companies will lose due to the lack of passenger travel.

To conclude,

although limiting the amount of people flying can cause many logistics and financial problems for individuals and companies, it must be done. It is a sacrifice we all have to endure to protect our planet from further damage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the disadvantages for individuals and businesses and the environmental benefits of reducing air travel. A clear overall position is established in the introduction and maintained throughout the essay. The arguments are relevant, such as touching upon family connections, global business operations, and the lack of green energy alternatives in commercial aviation. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed; for example, the claim about companies needing a price reduction or higher profits is a bit unclear and could be extended with more precise economic reasoning. Overall, the response covers the task well and meets the criteria for Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The paragraphs are structured reasonably well, with distinct introductory, body, and concluding sections, although the formatting includes some awkward line breaks ('On one hand,' and 'To conclude,'). Cohesive devices are used adequately to connect ideas, such as 'Nevertheless' and 'In order to prevent this'. However, referencing and paragraph integration can occasionally feel slightly disjointed due to the fragmented line spacing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the contrasting viewpoints of disadvantages and benefits, earning a solid Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using less common items such as 'greenhouse gases', 'localized costs', and 'alternative energy source'. There is an attempt to use precise terminology related to environmental issues and commerce. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as writing 'give up flying all together' (altogether) and referring to 'commercial airplane has no green alternative energy source' (where 'airplanes' or 'aviation' would be more natural). These vocabulary errors are occasional and do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.5, which rounds to Band 6 for lexical control or Band 7 depending on fluency—here comfortably a 6.5, but evaluated at 6.0 due to recurring collocation slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating the ability to construct multi-clause sentences such as 'In today's modern world, companies ship products around the globe, sign contracts across the world, and rely on global tourism for revenue.' There are, however, some noticeable grammatical errors and awkward agreements, such as 'Unlike other forms of transportation which is slowly turning...' (where 'which are' is required) and 'commercial airplane has no' (missing plural or article). Punctuation is generally acceptable, though minor run-on tendencies appear. Because errors occur consistently alongside a mix of structures without blocking comprehension, a Band 6.0 is appropriate.

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