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)

Aviation is reported as one of the most carbon emission source for environment . Daily ten thousands of flight regularly in world's sky and burn thousands of gallons of fuel which results in a global warming and Some people have decided to reduce the number of time they fly year for better environment and yes I completely agree with this statement and this statement outweigh the disadvantages . While many businesses and tourism country will reported a slight fall in their services but at the end its collectively helping the environment.

One of the best advantages of this initiative is if large number of people do this and cancel their multiple fly every year then airlines will only list few number of flights every year and it will help us to save million liters of fuel every year . Also it produce way more less carbon emission then what we produce today . Moreover most of crowded tourist places will become less crowded and peacefull . For example : if in world if there are 100 million of total people fly by planes every year which results in use of 500 millions barrels of fuel and if number drops to even 80 million then we might be able to save 100 million barrels every year. But this is only possible when major propotionate of people participate into this which will helps us to create a sustainable environment.

However it also contains some drawbacks like if a country which is soley dependent on tourism . For example : Thailand , Swittzerland then ther country's economy will see a rapid down trends thousands of businesses will get affected . and other major cause is business man travelling for work it will affect their ongoing work and may create a disrupt in employment sector also.

But I believe that Business man can avoid travelling and have their meeting virtually while other tourism dependent countries should find other sectors of development then advantages of decline in number of passenger in aviation will outweigh it's disadvantages.

In conclusion we can say that reduced number of people in airlines will result in few number of flights and will be beneficial for ourselves and environment only if world leaders take appropriate decision to handle their disadvantages in more effective way.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses, presenting a clear position that the benefits outweighing the drawbacks. Ideas are generally relevant, such as reduced fuel consumption and economic impacts on tourism-dependent nations like Thailand or Switzerland. However, some arguments lack full extension and rely on simple over-generalizations, particularly in the speculative examples provided. The position is maintained throughout, placing the response solidly in the Band 6 territory. To reach a higher band, the student should develop the economic arguments with greater depth and avoid unsupported numerical claims.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into five distinct paragraphs, showing a clear overall arrangement and progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'In conclusion', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or are awkwardly linked, as seen in the run-on sentences in the first paragraph. Referencing is generally functional, but pronouns are sometimes imprecise, leading to minor tracking issues. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different facets of the argument, such as environmental benefits versus economic drawbacks.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'sustainable environment', 'proportionate', and 'economy will see a rapid down trends'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'carbon emission source' instead of 'source of carbon emissions', 'multiple fly' instead of 'flights', and 'Swittzerland' (spelling error). While these errors do not impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5 or 6.0. Using more precise collocation would elevate the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in punctuation (e.g., missing capital letters, stray periods before conjunctions like '. and other major cause'), subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'thousand of businesses will get affected'), and run-on structures. For instance, the opening sentence 'Aviation is reported as one of the most carbon emission source for environment . Daily ten thousands of flight regularly in world's sky...' lacks a main verb and contains multiple structural errors. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.

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

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