Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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)

Nowadays, some individuals are choosing to reduce the number of flights that they take each year or stop flying completely. Although this development can provide environmental benefits, I believe that disadvantages for individuals and businesses are outweigh the advantages.

On the one hand, reducing flights can have several positive effects on environment because airplanes use millions of litters petrol in every single flight that effect the environment after releasing carbon emission. Another significant aspect of this development is that it encourage to people use another transport option like, trains, busses, and cars or other sustainable options. For example, if thousands of people choose trains, or busses for short journeys rather than to airplanes, the amount of carbon emission released into atmosphere could be significantly reduced. As a result, reduce the number of flights helps the harmful effect of aviation on climate change.

Despite these benefits, reducing the number of flights also have some drawbacks. The most considerable disadvantage is that, flights are often the fastest way of long journeys, Therefore, individuals that living in abroad they may find it harder to meet with their reletives. This development also can have a negative effect on international students and workers because usually international students have short vacations so students may have a challenging task to travel through any other transport option. Reducing inernational businesses is a most significant drawback of this development because companies may find it harder to meet overseas clients and partners. Therefore, As a result, companies could experience financial losses because fewer people travelling by air may reduce demand for tourism and international business services.

In conclusion, although reducing the number of flights can have a large number of benefits, I believe that disadvantages of this development are outweigh the advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses, presenting a clear overall position that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Your main ideas are generally relevant, but some are slightly under-developed or lack full extension. For instance, while you mention that individuals living abroad may find it harder to meet relatives, this point could have been supported with a more specific example regarding psychological well-being or travel constraints. Similarly, the discussion on international business touches on important concepts like financial losses and tourism, but moves rapidly between ideas without deep elaboration. To reach the next level, you should ensure that every main idea is fully extended and supported with robust explanations or examples rather than moving quickly to the next point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. You make use of standard cohesive devices to guide the reader, such as 'On the one hand', 'Despite these benefits', and 'In conclusion'. However, some cohesive referencing and linkage are occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, such as the redundant transition 'Therefore, As a result,' in the third paragraph, which disrupts the smooth flow of sentences. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes, but referencing between sentences could be managed with greater flexibility to avoid a repetitive structure. To achieve a higher band, you should aim for more seamless transitions and ensure that cohesive devices are used naturally without unnecessary clustering.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task and successfully attempt some less common lexical items, such as 'sustainable options', 'carbon emission', and 'international businesses'. However, your writing contains noticeable word choice, spelling, and word form errors that occasionally detract from precision. Examples include 'millions of litters petrol' (instead of litres of petrol), 'encourage to people use' (faulty verb pattern and word choice), 'reduce the number of flights helps' (grammatical form mismatch), 'that living in abroad' (awkward phrasing), and 'reletives' (spelling). You also rely on some repetitive phrasing, such as 'reducing the number of flights'. To move to a higher band, you need to expand your control of less common vocabulary and collocations while minimizing inaccuracies in spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You display a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout your essay, attempting various dependent clauses and conditional structures, such as 'if thousands of people choose trains... the amount... could be significantly reduced.' There are, however, some recurring errors in grammar and punctuation. For example, you write 'disadvantages for individuals and businesses are outweigh the advantages', which incorrectly combines the verb 'are' with the active verb 'outweigh'. Other minor errors involve articles and prepositions, such as 'positive effects on environment' instead of 'the environment'. While these errors rarely impede communication and your meaning remains clear, they prevent you from achieving a higher band where error-free sentences would be much more frequent. To improve, focus on eliminating basic structural confusions and ensure accurate verb formations.

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