Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

It is increasingly common for people to limit or completely avoid air travel for environmental reasons. While this trend has certain drawbacks for individuals and the economy, I believe the ecological advantages far outweight them.

Firstly, the primary environmental benefit of flying less is a significant reduction in carbon emission. Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gases and a single long- haul flight can emit more CO2 than an average person produces in a year. If a large number of people choose alternatives like trains, which are far more energy-efficient, it would directly slow down climate change and reduce air pollution. For example, the recent growth of flight-free movements in Europ has already encouraged investment in high-speed rail networks, which is a postive development for the planet.

Admittedly, reducing flights has disadvantges. For individuals, it limitsbfreedom and opportunity. Many people rely on cheap flights to visit family abroad or explore different cultures, and shopping this would lead to social isolation. For bussiness, the impact could be more secerec. International trade, tourism and forgein investment depend heavily on air connectivity. if bussiness travel decline, deals may be delayed, and tourist-dependent economies, like those Southeast Asia, could suffer huge financial losses and job cuts.

In conclusion, although curtailing air travel poses real challenges for personal mobility and global business, the environmet imperativr is greater. In my view, the long term brnrfits of proctecting the planet for future generations outweights the short-technology offers viable alternatives like video conferencing and sustainable rail travel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response effectively addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages of reducing air travel for individuals and businesses. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay, stating that the ecological advantages outweigh the drawbacks. The ideas are extended and supported with relevant explanations, such as the mention of carbon emissions from long-haul flights and the economic impacts on tourism-dependent regions like Southeast Asia. Although the conclusion contains some typographical errors, the overall task is well fulfilled, earning a solid Band 7.0 for addressing all aspects with a clear, supported viewpoint.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are grouped coherently into paragraphs, with an introduction, distinct body paragraphs for benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Admittedly', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argument. While paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, some mechanical transitions and minor referencing issues prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Overall, the structural progression aligns well with the Band 7 descriptor for clear logical organisation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, incorporating terms like 'greenhouse gases', 'energy-efficient', and 'connectivity'. There are attempts to use less common items, though some spelling and word-choice errors occur, such as 'outweight' instead of 'outweigh', 'Europ' instead of 'Europe', 'postive' instead of 'positive', 'disadvantges' instead of 'disadvantages', and 'secerec' instead of 'severe'. Despite these occasional lexical errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, fitting the Band 6.0 criteria well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and conditional structures such as 'If a large number of people choose alternatives...'. However, there are notable grammatical and typographical errors throughout the text, including 'limitsbfreedom' (spacing/typographical error), 'shopping this' instead of 'stopping this', 'if bussiness travel decline' (subject-verb agreement), and severe errors in the conclusion ('environmet imperativr', 'outweights', 'brnrfits', 'proctecting'). These errors indicate a lack of careful proofreading. Because the errors occasionally disrupt the flow, the grammar aligns closely with Band 6.0.

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