Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16

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)

It is often argued by some people that reduction in overseas visits for business activities have some positive environmental outcomes while other believe that such business visits have nothing with environment. However, I believe that its benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages. Rather, they have both advantages and disadvantages.

The reduction in overseas visits for business affairs usually decrease the cost of business and it force the administrative units to adopt new technologies and maintain connections with international clients, partners and consultants online using diverse contemporary technologies, eventually it lead to reduction in business expenses. Similarly, such decrease in flying save a lot of time for the higher as well as mid-level staff which they can divert to focus on ongoing business affairs which might increase their business productivity and profit.

In contrast, flying deductions have some disadvantages too. The first and foremost one is that it reduce market size and the businesses potential to utilize different markets efficiently eventually reduced. For example a business may not be able to capture or to extent its activities in a better way if they are not visiting frequently to different international markets and take real time data and on ground business conditions. Similarly, it also negatively cause the exposure of the business owners to adopt and learn new and advanced terminologies if they are avoiding foreign visits. For example a company might adopt primitive techniques in their business and after visiting and analyzing same business in other advanced setups will be helpful for them to adopt such contemporary techniques and grow their businesses.

In conclusion, deduction in flying abroad for business affairs might reduce business cost and save time however it also denied access of the business to greater markets and the firms might not get updated exposures. Resultantly, such flies has not much affiliation with environmental benefits and nor its advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. The position is stated, although the introductory phrasing 'its benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages. Rather, they have both advantages and disadvantages' is somewhat contradictory and clumsy. Main ideas are presented and supported with explanations regarding business costs, efficiency, and market reach, but some arguments feel slightly repetitive or under-developed. For example, the point about adopting new technologies is raised multiple times without fresh elaboration. Overall, the task is addressed adequately and a clear stance is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is arranged coherently with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the advantages in the second paragraph and disadvantages in the third. However, cohesion at the sentence level is frequently faulty or mechanical. Expressions like 'Similarly, such decrease in flying save' and 'In contrast, flying deductions have some disadvantages too' indicate awkward transitions. Furthermore, referencing and pronoun use are occasionally unclear, and there are mechanical errors in linking ideas smoothly, which pulls the overall cohesion down to a Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'administrative units', 'contemporary technologies', and 'primitive techniques'. However, there are numerous inappropriate word choices, word-formation errors, and collocations. Examples include 'flying deductions' instead of 'reductions in air travel', 'market size and the businesses potential' (grammatical form error), and 'negatively cause the exposure'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical inaccuracies restrict the score to Band 5.5, as these errors occasionally cause the reader hesitation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using conditional ideas and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'reduction in overseas visits... usually decrease', 'such decrease in flying save', 'a business... if they are not visiting'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('such flies has not much affiliation'). While these errors do not completely obscure the core meaning of the essay, they are frequent enough to prevent the writing from achieving a Band 6, placing it firmly at Band 5.0.

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