Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-27

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)

Some people have selected to decrease the number of their yearly flights or to stop it completely. As far as I am concerned, there are more environmental advantages of this development than disadvantages for people and companies.

One of the significant benefits is that there will be low carbon emission in the air because airplanes uses traditional energy sources such as diesel and oil. This revolution also reduces global warming and climate change, which reduces the air pollution. Secondly, people will inspire clean air, which will decrease the rate of respiratory diseases. Moreover, there will be low pressure on conventional energy sources and they will be utilized for other purposes. For example, conserved fossil fuels will be used to produce electricity to tackle load-shedding.

One major drawback is that individuals have to travel by buses and trains which can be hectic for them because these transport options are inconvenient and take a lot of travel time. For example, people can face problems in professional life if they will reach late at their destinations. Besides that, national and international air travels generate a huge revenue for businesses so they will suffer with economic loss with decreasing in number of passengers.

In conclusion, this development has many positive impacts on our surroundings such as fall in global warming gases, reduction in climate changes, reservation of non-renewable energy sources, and improvement in air quality. While there are some negative sides like long travel time and uncomfortable journey for the public and economy loss for companies, but positive sides will outweigh the downsides of this revolution.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses, maintaining a clear position that the advantages outweigh the downsides. The position is articulated right from the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas leans towards being somewhat generalized. For instance, the point regarding businesses suffering economic loss is stated broadly without specific elaboration or a strong concrete example, unlike the paragraph on transport challenges which provides a clearer scenario. Nevertheless, the main arguments are relevant and directly address the core of the task, meeting the expectations for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, where all parts are addressed and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall logical arrangement and is divided into appropriate paragraphs with a discernible introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'One of the significant benefits', 'Secondly', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion can sometimes feel a bit mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Besides that' is slightly conversational, and the linkage within paragraphs could be smoother. Paragraphing is handled well overall, ensuring each main idea has its own space, which keeps the essay organized and easy to follow throughout, supporting a solid Band 6.0 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'carbon emission', 'conventional energy sources', 'respiratory diseases', and 'non-renewable energy sources'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, though this is occasionally accompanied by awkward word choices or collocations, such as 'people will inspire clean air' (instead of 'breathe') and 'economic loss with decreasing in number of passengers' (instead of 'a decrease in the number'). Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably within the Band 6.0 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'if they will reach late at their destinations' (where future tense is incorrectly used after 'if'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing patterns, such as 'airplanes uses' (subject-verb agreement error), 'low carbon emission in the air' (missing article/pluralization), and 'suffer with economic loss' (incorrect preposition). Despite these errors, they rarely impede overall communication, and the writer manages to express complex thoughts, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

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

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