Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

In recent times many people have decided to fly less all over the year or completely stop flying altogether.I think that it has negative impact on individuals and for business than the positive impacts on environment.

In an airline company many people are link with it, from cleaning staff to pilots.

Less flights means less revenue and less customer market which eventually lead to jobs of these peoples, company may fire few staff according to the market need and business situation, so in the end inflation and underemployement rates increases.

Although it contributes to positive benefits for environment but they are very few like airplanes dont contribute as much in polution as factories , and other petrol, diseal vehicle does.We have absorve this in the days of COVID when files are limited in number for couple of years, so as a result we dont see much environmental benefits it has increased by a slight fractions on the other hand by the limitation of flights, inflation rates increases, many people loses theor jobs.

In conclusion disadvantages are far more on the economy and inflation and job market than the positive impacts on environment. So people should countinue their flight schedule as they do earlier it will contribute alot in development.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position that the negative impacts on individuals and businesses outweigh the environmental benefits of reducing flights. However, the text falls significantly short of the 250-word minimum, containing only 209 words. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas, as the arguments regarding economic consequences and environmental impacts are presented rather cursorily and lack sufficient supporting examples. While the writer touches upon job losses and inflation, these points are not fully extended. Consequently, this falls under Band 5, where the task is only partially addressed due to limited and under-developed ideas combined with the length penalty.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into four paragraphs, providing a basic structural framework, but overall progression is somewhat impaired by poor sentence linking and punctuation errors. For instance, sentences are occasionally joined incorrectly, such as missing spaces after periods like 'altogether.I think'. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, relying heavily on simple connectors like 'so' and 'although'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks smooth transitions. While the essay has an overall recognizable introduction, body, and conclusion, the mechanical nature of the cohesion and faulty referencing keep this criterion at a Band 5 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive throughout the essay. The writer relies on simple terms such as 'people', 'business', 'environment', and 'money-related concepts'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'link with it' instead of 'employed in it', 'customer market' instead of 'market demand', and 'absorve this' instead of 'observe this'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'underemployement', 'polution', 'diseal', 'files' instead of 'flights', and 'theor' instead of 'their'. Because the lexical range is limited and errors cause some minor strain for the reader, a Band 5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or attempt complex forms that result in heavy structural errors and run-on sentences, such as 'Less flights means less revenue and less customer market which eventually lead to jobs of these peoples, company may fire few staff according to the market need and business situation, so in the end inflation and underemployement rates increases.' Subject-verb agreement errors are frequent (e.g., 'Less flights means', 'rates increases'), and punctuation is often neglected or misused. Due to the frequent errors and limited control over complex sentence forms, the writing fits the Band 5 descriptor.

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

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