Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19

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 this contemporary world, air has become the most preferable and reliable mode of transport but recently some individuals have decided to reduce the number of times they fly evry year or to stop flying totally. I think the environmental advantages of this trend does not outweigh the disadvantages faced by individuals and bussiness. In the upcoming esaay i have supported my stand with reasonable justifications.

Firstly cosidering the only advantage of this trend, airplanes fly using petroleum which in turn release harmful gases in the atmosphere causing air pollution and the problems faced by it such as deteriorating level of oxygen and public health. So if this trend is followed by all the individuals or most of them, the problem caused by air pollution can be solved to a slight extent.

Now considering the disadvantages faced by individuals by this trend, it is universal fact that airplanes are the fastest way of transportation for travelling from one place to another. Owing to which by using this service an individual can save his/her quality time. If this trend is followed by them this will cost them wastage of their quality time.

Furthermore, airplanes are quite expensive and the companies purchasing them incur a huge amount of money in buying them. So if the trend of not flying by air will flourish then such companies may have to face big losses. Also the manufacturers of the airplanes will also face also due to lack of effective demand in the market.

in addition to this, the aviation industry payes a significant amount of tax to the government out of their profit. So if they start to face loss it will directly affect the tax structure of the economy and hence the GDP of the country. This may also lead to inefficiency of the governments to run their countries.

In conclusion, following this trend may have it`s advantages but the disadvantages caused by this trend are more than them as aviation sector will face loss which is one of the major aspect of world`s economy and it`s downfall can cause recession in the market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses, and takes a clear position that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The ideas are generally relevant, covering travel time savings for individuals, financial losses for companies, and macroeconomic tax implications. However, some arguments lack deep development and tend to over-generalize, such as the claim that reduced flying would directly lead to a market recession. The response meets all task requirements with a clear overall structure, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from the single environmental advantage to individual consequences and finally broader economic impacts. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, such as individual time wastage and corporate tax issues. However, cohesive devices are occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, as seen in transition phrases like 'Now considering the disadvantages' and 'in addition to this, the aviation industry payes'. Referencing is generally clear, but some sentences feel disconnected, placing this criterion solidly in the Band 6.0 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'contemporary world', 'petroleum', 'effective demand', and 'tax structure of the economy'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('evry', 'esaay', 'cosidering', 'bussiness', 'payes') and occasional inappropriate word choices or word forms, such as 'quality time' used repeatedly in an unnatural context. While communication is not impeded, these lexical slips and spelling inaccuracies prevent the essay from reaching a higher band, placing it at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures and relative clauses (e.g., 'So if this trend is followed by all the individuals...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and pluralization (e.g., 'airplanes are the fastest way... to save his/her quality time', 'the manufacturers of the airplanes will also face also', 'it`s advantages', 'one of the major aspect'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capitalizations at the start of paragraphs. Due to these persistent errors, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

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