Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-26

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)

Environmental concerns has been an ongoing debate from past two or three decades, because of major concerns like global warming and climate changes. Some people believed that reducing number of flights can make an lasting impact on environment. I somehow agree with this point of view.

However, many people come out with multiple solutions and initiatives. One of those suggestion, avoiding flights and reduce traveling is a considerable solution as well as sustainable although, this may affect negatively to businesses and authorities connected to aviation. Nevertheless these departments should consider the environment as it is directly related to people's health and quality of life. If people avoid taking domestic flights and could travel by trains and local transports if could be a greate step taken by the individuals. Moreover, avoiding unnecessary flights and preventing travels with groups might plays a significant role in decreasing the number of flights in the region.

These steps are very crucial to take because if it could not be controlled if can end up with severe consequences in terms of destroying the environment and air pollution.

However, it can not be denied that businesses and global economy will face a major drawback if people started avoiding flights because many countries economy highly relies on the tourism.For example Thailand, Africa and Switzerland mainly depended on their tourists, but we need to understand the bad air quality will harm the humanity and it will not reverse.

Concluding the fact that if may effect the businesses and aviation departments but it do not outwiegh the disadvantages because the environment is much more bi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for businesses and aviation, taking a clear position that the environmental advantages outweigh the drawbacks. The ideas are generally relevant, covering points such as reduced carbon emissions, the use of alternative transport like trains, and the negative economic impact on tourism-dependent regions like Thailand. However, some arguments lack full extension and are slightly repetitive, particularly the points regarding air quality and economic damage. The response touches on all parts of the task, meeting the basic requirements for Task Achievement, aligning with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the argument into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding thought (though the essay cuts off slightly at the end). Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'Nevertheless', and 'Moreover', but their usage is at times mechanical or slightly inaccurate. Paragraphing is present, but the division and internal flow of ideas feel somewhat disjointed. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun usage in 'if it could not be controlled if can end up'. These features correspond to a Band 5.5 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'sustainable', 'consequences', and 'drawback'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and inaccurate word choices throughout the text, such as 'Environmental concerns has' (grammatical agreement), 'preventing travels with groups' (unnatural collocation), and the incomplete ending where 'bi' cuts off. Spelling and word-choice errors are present but do not entirely impede communication, placing this firmly in the Band 5.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditionals and subordinate clauses like 'If people avoid taking domestic flights...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in subject-verb agreement ('Environmental concerns has', 'economies highly relies'), article usage, preposition selection ('from past two or three decades'), and punctuation. Faulty structures appear frequently, such as 'if it could not be controlled if can end up', which causes some difficulty for the reader and reflects Band 5.0 characteristics.

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