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 the past, travel by flying is not very common due to limitation of facility and most of the people fall under poor category as they were not earn very well because of limited opportunity. At present, table turned and maximum numbers of people have their business and high paying jobs which allow them to travel by flight. However, many people think to dropped the idea of often traveling by air or completely oppose to travel by flight.

To bolster my opinion, i would say that there are many reason to stop flying by air and help environment to be clean & pollution free. As we know huge amount of jet fuel required to fly a plane because of that, air quality index increasing and it will also affect the global warming situation. To minimize this situation we have used to travel by locally, by electric vehicle, by public transport which carry more people at a same time to one place to another.

However, businessmen who have to travel overseas to deal with global client does not have another option rather then flying in such case they need to travel in commercial plane instead of using private jet plane, this one action can also saves the fuel as well as environment to being pollute. We do not have to stop flying completely but whenever required we have to prior the travel with commercial flights.

In conclusion, people can not stop flying completely due to several personal & business related reasons. however, they can use recourses which create low pollution they plane and help to save environment and promote green energy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the environmental impacts of flying alongside the business and personal needs for air travel, forming a clear position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and generalized. For example, the writer mentions that jet fuel increases the air quality index and global warming, but this point remains underdeveloped without specific elaboration or strong supporting examples. Similarly, the counterargument regarding business travelers is introduced briefly and resolved quickly. While all parts of the task are addressed, the depth of reasoning places this response firmly in Band 6, where relevant ideas are presented but remain somewhat under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilized to separate different aspects of the argument, such as environmental benefits versus business needs. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'To bolster my opinion, i would say that' and 'this one action can also saves' create awkward linkages. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the sentence 'to minimize this situation we have used to travel by locally', which disrupts the logical flow. Overall, the organizational structure is apparent, but the mechanical nature of cohesive devices and occasional referencing issues align with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic concepts about travel and the environment. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and topic-specific terms, such as 'air quality index', 'global warming', and 'commercial flight'. However, frequent word-choice and collocation errors are present, such as 'fall under poor category', 'table turned', 'dropped the idea', and 'prior the travel'. Additionally, there are awkward phrasings like 'travel by locally'. These noticeable lexical inaccuracies restrict the score to Band 5.5, as the range is minimally adequate but errors occasionally cause strain.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some capability to construct multi-clause sentences. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in verb tense, agreement, and prepositions, such as 'travel by flying is not very common', 'most of the people fall', 'as they were not earn very well', 'huge amount of jet fuel required', and 'can also saves the fuel'. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, as seen with the lowercase 'i'. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader despite a mix of structures, this performance fits the Band 5 descriptor.

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

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