Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-24
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 5.0)
It is an undeniable fact that some people have made a decision to limit the multiple number of times they travel every year or to completely stop travelling altogether by a flight. No, i do not think the environmental merits of this development can outweigh the demerits for indivisuals and businesses. The reasons will be given in the following paragraphs.
To begin with, the environmental merits of this development. Firstly, by the recline in the number of times an indivicual flying, the wastes produced by passengers while flying in a flight is directly dumbed into water bodies which includes in environmental damage by following this the damage will be minimised.
On the other hand, the demerits are very threatening for some people and businesses like travelling agency and pilots. Following that, there will be alot of unemployment and extream hardship for people to go on vacations and business trips. Further more, some individuals do travel often for medical treatments and have appointments once or twice a month and they have to travel often for maintaing their health. As well as, trading businesses will be effected by the decline in cargo planes which carry goods from one country to another and it gives business to every supermarket by providing imported food to sell in supermarkets.
Taking everything into consideration, we understood that demerits of individuals and businesses outweigh the merits of environmental development examples are loss in businesses and pro
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear stance that the environmental benefits do not outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, containing only 239 words, which results in a penalty in Task Achievement. Furthermore, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive, particularly in the conclusion which trails off unfinished ('pro'). While key areas of the prompt are touched upon, the arguments regarding waste in water bodies and the impact on medical appointments are somewhat underdeveloped and generalized. To reach a higher band, the student must expand their supporting points fully, ensure complete thought processes, and strictly adhere to the minimum length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay attempts a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, adhering to a traditional academic essay format. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by the fragmentation of the body paragraphs and mechanical cohesive devices like 'To begin with, the environmental merits of this development' which are left grammatically incomplete. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is abruptly cut off in the middle of a sentence, failing to provide a cohesive summary. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the overall flow is occasionally choppy. To improve, the student should ensure all sentences are grammatically complete and use transitional phrases more naturally and accurately.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words such as 'undeniable', 'development', and 'unemployment'. However, there are numerous lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as 'multiple number of times', 'travelling altogether by a flight', 'dumbed into water bodies', and 'travelling agency'. Furthermore, spelling and word form errors are present, including 'indivisuals', 'extream', 'maintaing', and 'effected' instead of 'affected'. While the meaning is generally communicated despite these inaccuracies, the frequent errors in word choice and spelling limit the lexical score to Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are basic capitalization and punctuation errors, such as 'No, i do not think...'. Grammatical errors are frequent, including tense and preposition slips like 'by a flight' instead of 'by plane', and structural awkwardness such as 'by the recline in the number of times an indivicual flying'. Complex clauses frequently contain errors that cause some difficulty for the reader, and the final sentence is incomplete. To improve, the student needs to focus on sentence completeness, subject-verb agreement, and accurate preposition use.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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