Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Whether the individuals should reduce flying or not for environmental purposes has been the topic of debate for the past few years. Some people believe flying altogether is good for building effective communication and developing new friendships with others. However, many people also believe that taking flights altogether might have a detrimental effect on environment. This essay will critically examine both arguments with relevant examples and justifications.

Taking flights together has been the greatest source of meeting new people. whenever someone flies in the airplane, they are most likely to meet new people around them and most friendships are developed in this setting. Some flights are really long and exhausting that passengers start feeling lonely and bored. As a result, they involve in conversations with the person next to them.

Many people do not prefer travelling alone. They appreciate having someone who can help and support them througout the journey so in case of any mishap, they can rely on someone. For example, someone who can help in carrying luggage. Others want to have a nice company so that they can have interesting conversations and pleasant memories of travelling.

Surprisingly, many researchers have found out that a flight containing too many people may have adverse effects on environment which is why some individuals have decided to reduce the number of flights they take in a year to promote the idea of environment-protection.

In my opinion, as a responsible citizen, this is our first and most crucial duty to protect our planet and environment. It does not mean that people should avoid taking flights even for their important tasks but all individuals must try to avoid unnecessary flights as much as they can do.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages of flying (social connection) and the environmental disadvantages, ultimately providing a personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of the arguments is somewhat unbalanced. The student spends a disproportionate amount of time on the social benefits of flying—such as meeting new people, overcoming loneliness, and getting help with luggage—while treating the environmental drawbacks superficially in a single brief paragraph. The position is clear, but the ideas related to businesses and broader individual disadvantages requested in the prompt are largely overlooked, leading to a tendency to under-develop key parts of the task. Nevertheless, the main tenets of the prompt are addressed, aligning the response with the Band 6 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement and is divided into logical paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Introduction and conclusion are present. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally mechanical or repetitive, such as starting multiple paragraphs with similar phrasing or relying on basic cohesive devices. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronoun usage like 'They appreciate having someone who can help...'. Paragraphing is used, but the body paragraphs discussing the social aspects could be better integrated and structured. Overall organisation is clear enough to follow without difficulty, matching the requirements of Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and phrases such as 'detrimental effect on environment', 'mishap', and 'responsible citizen'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'taking flights together' instead of 'air travel' or 'flying', and 'involve in conversations' instead of 'engage in conversations'. Spelling is generally correct, but vocabulary control fluctuates, which prevents the writing from achieving a higher band. The lexical resource is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, satisfying the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses ('someone who can help and support them'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'Whether the individuals should reduce flying' (unnecessary article), 'taking flights altogether might have' (misuse of 'altogether'), and 'environment-protection' (awkward compounding). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are present, they rarely impede communication. This mix of structures and persistent errors is characteristic of Band 6 performance.

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