Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays, many individuals prefer to reduce the amount of times they fly or stop flying altogether in order to reduce the environmental pollution caused by the aviation industry, while this is a positive and beneficial habit for the environment, I do not belive that it outweighs the hardships and obstacles it produces for individuals and businessses.

In the past few years, many businesses have branched internationally to increase revenue and offer job opportunities globally, such companies may require their employees to occasionally travel to conduct their business and reducing travels can halt economic developments and may result in many employees being terminated from their jobs. For instance, my brother in law works at a software engineering company that frequently requires him to travel to different countries and if he can not fulfill his duties he will become jobless.

On an individual level, travelling may be easier to reduce. However, there are still many benefits for travelling that outweigh its environmetal disadvantages. For example, many individuals choose to work abroad to provide for their families without having the chance to see them for a long time due to the demanding nature of their employment and they would be thrilled at the nearest chance to travel and see their families. Furthermore, a huge number of individuals will have to reduce or quit travelling altogether to produce a noticeable environmental benefit, the aviation industry is growing rapidly and has become a pivotal aspect of people's lives, unless many individuals choose to reduce flying then the inconvenience that quitting or reducing flying causes outweighs the environmental benefits.

In summary, many individuals have become dependent on flying for their livelihood. Moreover, many use it as their only means to meet their loved ones. I strongly believe that the benefits of flying outweigh the environmental benefits of reducing or quitting due to the widespread dependance and lack of people willing to comply with reducing or quitting flying.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, taking a clear and well-developed position that the environmental benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. The introduction clearly states the writer's stance. In the body paragraphs, the writer extends and supports relevant ideas, exploring the economic impact on businesses and international employees, as well as the personal and emotional costs to individuals separated from their families. While there is a slight tendency to over-generalise regarding the aviation industry's unstoppable growth, the ideas are sufficiently developed and directly answer the prompt. The response meets all descriptors for a Band 7 in this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving smoothly from a well-defined introduction to business impacts, individual impacts, and a concise summary. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'In the past few years', 'For instance', 'On an individual level', and 'Furthermore'. However, there is a minor run-on sentence issue in the third paragraph ('...employments and they would be thrilled...'), and paragraphing, while functional, could be more tightly managed. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow, aligning closely with Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The writer uses a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, incorporating terms like 'aviation industry', 'economic developments', 'demanding nature', and 'livelihood'. There are occasional lapses in word choice and spelling, notably 'belive' instead of 'believe' and 'dependance' instead of 'dependence'. Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of style, but occasional inaccuracies prevent the response from reaching Band 7. The vocabulary is adequate for the task and communication is never impeded, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to construct multi-clause sentences such as conditional structures ('if he can not fulfill his duties he will become jobless') and concessive clauses. There are some punctuation and grammatical errors, particularly comma splices (e.g., in the third paragraph: '...families, furthermore, a huge number...' and run-on sentences with 'and'). Despite these recurring errors, they rarely impede communication, and the grammatical control is generally solid enough to satisfy the requirements of Band 6.

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