Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-21

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)

In this essay we are going to evaluate the advantages of flying less or not flying at all for the sake of environment against the possible demerits of this practice. In my opinion, the advantages of flying less is way more than the disadvantages of not doing so.

Flying less for the environment can contribute significanlty in decreasing the air pollution and makes earth more sustainable for the coming generation. Planes use fossil fuels to run the engines that make them fly. As a result, these engines produce carbon dioxide and other harmful gases that contribute to air pollution. If enough people decide to not fly or fly less, the number of flights operated daily in the world would decrease significantly. Conseqently, the usage of fossil fuel would decrease and so does the carbon foot print. Moreover, the reserves of fossil fuels are limited and if we decide against the ways to reduce their usage, our coming generations would not have these resources available to use. For example, if some of the rich persons decide to not use their private planes for commuting, it would be even better than planting many trees and would contribute a lot toward the environment.

Flying less or not flying, also have some disadvantages for the indivuals and businesses. This would increase the time required for some operations and it can also make some parts of the world inaccessible. Flights reduce the time required by people and goods to move from one part of the world to another. Subsequently, if we decide not to use flights, we would have to choose slower and more time taking means of transportation. This would make our task immensely slower. Moreover, there are some parts of the world that can not be reached without flights. For example, Australia is only reachable by flights, other way is by sea and it takes months to reach there by ship.

Overall, reaching late is better than not reaching at all and if we do not take wise decisions for our coming generations today, they might not be able to reach any where, so flying less is way better.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position throughout the essay. The introduction outlines both the environmental benefits and individual/business disadvantages, and the body paragraphs explore both sides of the argument. Ideas are extended with relevant examples, such as mentioning private planes and the geographical accessibility of Australia. However, there is a tendency to over-generalise slightly in places, and some arguments could be explored in greater depth to fully reach a higher band. For instance, the discussion on economic impacts could be expanded beyond mere travel time. Overall, the response meets the core requirements of Task Achievement well, sustaining a clear viewpoint and supporting it adequately throughout the 356-word essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the introduction, through the environmental benefits and disadvantages, to the conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each main idea given its own paragraph. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Moreover', 'As a result', and 'Subsequently'. However, some of the referencing and transitions are a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'Flying less'. Additionally, the introduction features a conversational meta-statement ('In this essay we are going to evaluate...') which detracts slightly from formal academic style. Despite these minor flaws, the logical flow is easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'fossil fuels', 'carbon dioxide', 'air pollution', and 'carbon footprint'. There are also successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'demerits', 'inaccessible', and 'sustainable'. However, there are several spelling errors ('significanlty', 'Conseqently', 'indivuals') and occasional awkward word choices or collocations, such as 'way more than' and 'time taking'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level where vocabulary control is generally adequate but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'If enough people decide...' and 'if we do not take wise decisions...'. There is good control of basic structures, and communication is never impeded by grammatical errors. However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies and punctuation slips, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Flying less or not flying, also have...') and missing articles or preposition errors ('for sake of environment', 'other way is by sea'). Complex structures are attempted but sometimes contain minor flaws, placing the grammar comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor where a mix of structures is combined with frequent errors that rarely impede understanding.

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