Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-18
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 recent years volume of flights are dropping because choices of most of the people are changed. However this approach may affect the personal benefits of public and corporate sector, I maintain that reducing flying can provide several advantages for environment.
On the one hand, reducing flying produces essential environmental benefits. One of the major reasons is that airplanes consume fuel which contributes to green house gases. Emissions of carbon dioxiode in air will cause the air pollution. This is because ozone layer is gradually depleting. So that reducing flights can be beneficial to maintain the global temperature by controlling the air pollution. Moreover, travelling by land have changed over the time, now most of the public vehicles are electric or eco-friendly. They help to reduce pollution and also convenient and affordable.
On the other hand, this trend may create hurdles for individuals and businesses. Employees of Multi-national corporations have to travel by air for important meetings, conferences and to make deal with customer. Personal meetings will build a trust in trade and strengthen the business relations. In addition, individuals who live abroad or work their, have to visit their families by flying. Therefore this approach will effects their personal interests. However, relying on technological advancements will be a practical solutions for most of the problems. Conducting meetings on video call or making a deal online by electronic means and communicating with relatives on call will be effective solutions.
In conclusion, although reducing or stop flying altogether will lead to some problems for large group of society and businesses, I believe that the environmental benefits outweigh its disadvantages.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses, ultimately providing a clear position that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The introduction sets out the writer's stance, and body paragraphs develop relevant ideas, such as greenhouse gas emissions and corporate travel needs. However, some arguments remain somewhat generalised and under-developed, such as the brief mention of land travel alternatives and technological solutions. Ideas are sufficiently extended to meet the requirements of a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing that separates the introduction, the two body paragraphs, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts in logic, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or abrupt, as seen in sentences like 'So that reducing flights can be beneficial' and 'work their', which disrupts the natural flow of ideas. Paragraph organisation is logical, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student displays an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'eco-friendly', 'green house gases', and 'Multi-national corporations'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'volume of flights are dropping' instead of 'falling', 'carbon dioxiode' (spelling error), 'make deal with customer', and 'work their' instead of 'there'. These errors do not impede overall communication, placing the response securely at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising conditional and transitional structures like 'although reducing or stop flying altogether will lead to some problems'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement ('In recent years volume of flights are dropping'), articles ('in air', 'the air pollution'), prepositions, and verb forms ('stop flying' instead of 'stopping flying'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message, they constrain the score to a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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