Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-02
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 recent years, increasing number of population have chosen to reduce the number of times they fly each year or stop taking flights altogether due to environmental concerns. Although this trend may craete difficulties for individuals who are regular in taking flights for businesses. I believe the environmental benefits of this development outweigh the disadvantages for individuals as well as businesses.
Some of the main advantage is positive impact on environment because the aircraft contributes in air population the most, as it emits the carbon dioxide which is harmful for the human beings. When people stop flying every year and rather switch to different modes of transportation, it automatically improve air quality and may help in reducing greenhouse gas emission. People who gets benefit from air flyng are either businessman or tourists. Forexample, an individual can take bus or rail for travelling from one city to other, or for short travelling.
The main disadvantage travellers have to face could be time-consuming and exhausting especially for businesses. It could be stressing for not reaching the destination on time and sometime could be delayed or postponed meeting. Some work has a work requirement of face to face meeting which would be affected by taking such decesions. Forexample, when it becomes a habit for people to work for sustainable environment, the businesses such hotels airlines might face recession because of fewer customers prefer flying.
In conclusion, the idea is to reduce travelling by flying considered to safe and healtheir option for environment purposes as well as work commitments which could help in improving air quality and progress towards development.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, successfully presenting a clear position that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant ideas are introduced regarding air quality improvement and the negative impacts on businesses and travel time. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the discussion on the environmental advantages touches briefly on carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution, but lacks extended support or specific depth. Similarly, the counterargument about business meetings is somewhat under-developed and relies on general assertions rather than robust explanation. Nevertheless, the main task requirements are met with a clear overall stance, placing the response firmly at this level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, body paragraphs addressing advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct themes. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases like 'Some of the main advantage is' and 'Forexample' are awkwardly integrated. Referencing and logical progression within paragraphs occasionally falter, as seen in the sudden shift in the second paragraph from environmental impacts to business flyers and alternative transport. Overall, the structure is logical enough to guide the reader through the argument, though smoother cohesive links and more precise referencing would elevate the cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used provides an adequate range for the task, successfully communicating the central themes of environmental impact and travel inconvenience. The writer attempts less common vocabulary, such as 'sustainable environment', 'recession', and 'greenhouse gas emission', but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation. Examples include 'air population' instead of 'air pollution', 'air flyng' instead of 'air travel', and 'healtheir option' instead of 'healthier option'. Additionally, there are word-form and spelling issues like 'craete' and 'decesions'. These lexical slips and inaccuracies do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the range and precision of the vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there is a limited range of control over complex structures, and frequent errors in grammar and punctuation persist. Noticeable issues include subject-verb agreement errors such as 'increasing number of population have' and 'Some of the main advantage is', as well as missing articles and prepositional errors like 'for businesses' versus 'in businesses'. There are also fragmented structures, such as the sentence ending with a dangling clause in the introduction: 'Although this trend may craete difficulties for individuals who are regular in taking flights for businesses. I believe...' These errors in grammar and punctuation require some effort from the reader, though they rarely obscure the overall meaning.
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