Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-29

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)

In this contemporary world, many people decided to stop or limit the use of planes as a transportation method. From my prespective it has several benefits to the surrounding environment, followed by individuals, while it has more negative impact on businesses.

To begin with, once the person wants to reduce or limit the number of flights, it has massive impact on our earth and atmoshpere, as it would make a greener planet. However, this kind of limitation or reducation of sky travel is leading to significant increase in number of transportation means such as cars and buses. For example, a study conducted in a developing country, was found that poolution from aircraft is much dangerous to human health, in contrast, to other kinds of vehicle.

In terms of individual and business impacts, when a family reduce their number of trips, it will lead to save more funds or money for their future needs. Furthermore, the businesses are the most affected secotr due to this, they can lose vital deals by limiting their work trips, so it has a deterimental impact on their financial status, as their jobs are depend upon it. A survey done in the capital of Saudi Arabia in 2022, was found that families with less frequent trips are financially free compared with more frequent travellers.

In conclusion, the better atmosphere and air quality led to have better human lifestyles, as a consequence of less air pollution of less air travel. Moreover, the citizens have a positive impact, saving money can secure their forthcoming days. Also, the businesses are the most affected by losing a lot of work deals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses. A clear position is established in the introduction ('From my prespective it has several benefits... while it has more negative impact on businesses') and maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas tends to be somewhat superficial and repetitive. For example, the argument regarding individuals saving money is stated multiple times without sufficient extension or deep elaboration. Furthermore, the second paragraph awkwardly shifts to discuss cars and buses increasing, which somewhat muddies the direct environmental impact of reducing flights. Despite these minor limitations in idea expansion, the task is adequately addressed in line with Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. However, some referencing and cohesive ties are faulty or mechanical. For instance, the phrase 'was found that poolution from aircraft is much dangerous' exhibits awkward phrasing and disjointed logical flow. Additionally, transitions between sentences within paragraphs can feel abrupt, indicating that cohesion is not always managed with complete fluency. These issues place the response firmly in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'contemporary world', 'transportation method', 'detrimental impact', and 'financially free'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally draw attention, such as 'prespective', 'atmoshpere', 'reducation', 'poolution', 'secotr', and 'deterimental'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect the limitations typical of a Band 6 performance. The student attempts to use appropriate academic vocabulary, but lacks the precision and fluency required to reach the higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'once the person wants to reduce or limit the number of flights' and 'when a family reduce their number of trips'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('when a family reduce', 'businesses are... their jobs are depend upon'), preposition errors ('impact on our earth', 'in contrast, to'), and awkward passive constructions ('was found that'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout, and they rarely impede overall communication, fulfilling the criteria for Band 6.

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

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