Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-30

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)

The increasingly prevalence of some individuals to reduce the amount of times they fly every year or to completely stop flying has generated considerable debate. While this development offers several benefits,particularly healthy and eco-friendly, it also entails certain drawbacks, most notably decline in gross domestic product rate. Overall, I consider there are numerous advantages and drawback for the companies as well as for the economy welfare.

This easy will be expilcited with numerous benfits and disadvantages.

One major advantage of reducing air travel is the potential reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions. Aircraft consume large amount of fossil fuel, particularly on long-distance journeys, and consequently contribute significantly to climate change. If fewer people travelled by air, demand for flights would decrease, which encourage airlines to reduce the number of flights thet operate. In addition, people could replace some short-haul filghts with public transport such as trains or buses. Which generally produce fewer emissions per passenger.

However, reduce air travel could have negative consequences for both individuals and businesses. For individuals, flying is often the fastes and most convenient way to visit family members, study abroad or take holidays in distant countries. People who live far from their relatives may therefore find it difficult to maintain close relationships without regular flights. Businesses could also suffer because international travel allows employees to meet clients, attend con

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by discussing the environmental benefits and the disadvantages of reducing air travel for individuals and businesses. However, the student's text is incomplete and abruptly cuts off mid-sentence at the end. Furthermore, the length requirement of 250 words is not met, as the response contains only 222 words, resulting in a penalty. The position is generally clear in the introduction, but the development of ideas is truncated and lacks a concluding summary. To achieve a higher band score, the essay needs to be fully completed with balanced, well-supported arguments meeting the minimum word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt at organisation, with an introduction and early paragraph breaks. However, paragraphing is disrupted by the abrupt ending of the essay. Cohesive devices such as 'While this development', 'One major advantage', and 'However' are used, but referencing and sentence linking are sometimes faulty, as seen in the fragmented sentence 'Which generally produce fewer emissions per passenger.' Overall progression is interrupted by the incomplete nature of the response, leading to a noticeable lack of overall cohesion in the final sections.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'greenhouse-gas emissions', 'short-haul flights', and 'gross domestic product rate'. However, there are several noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, such as 'increasingly prevalence', 'economic welfare', and 'easy will be expilcited' (intended as essay will be explicit/explained). These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5 level due to repetition and word-choice inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses. However, control over grammar is inconsistent, featuring frequent errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Some people have decided... easy will be expilcited'), incorrect word forms ('reduce air travel' instead of 'reducing air travel'), and fragment sentences ('Which generally produce fewer emissions per passenger.'). Punctuation is also problematic in places. These frequent grammatical errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

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