Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-04

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 6.5)

In recent year, some people have chosen to reduce the number of times they fly each year and stop flying althogether. Although this development can have some disadvantages for individuals and buisenesses, it can also provide significant enviormental benefits. I believe that the advantages of reducing air travel outweigh the disadvantages.

One major advantage is that flying less can help protect the environment. Airplanes consume large amounts of fossil fuels and release substantial amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Therefore, reducing air travel can lower carbon emissions and help to combat climate change. Another benefit is that it can can encourage people to use more sustainable alternatives, such as trains, busses and online meeting. For example, companies can conduct international conferences through video calls instead of requiring employees to travel abroad.

However, minimizing air travel can also create difficulties for individuals. People who work or live abroad may find it challeging to visit their families and maintain personal relatioships without flying. In addition, buisenesses that operate internationally may lose valuable opportunities for face-to-face meetings, conferences or negotiations. For instance, companies may find it more difficult to establish international partnerships or attract overseas customers if their employees are unable to travel.

In conclusion, reducing air travel can cause inconvenience for pupils who need to travel internationally and may create problems for enterpreneurs involved in global activities. Nevertheless, it can lesser greenhouse-gas emissions and encourage the adoption of more environmentally friendly means of transportations and communications. I therefore think that environmental benefits of flying less outweigh the disadvantages for individuals and buisenesses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and maintains a clear position throughout, stating that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Note that eight words copied directly from the prompt were not counted in the total word count, but the remaining response comfortably meets the length requirement. Ideas are extended and supported, such as discussing carbon emissions and alternative transport, though there is a slight tendency to overgeneralize when discussing business impacts. To reach the next level, the ideas would need to be more fully developed with deeper analysis rather than general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

There is a clear logical organization and progression throughout the essay, demonstrating a coherent overall arrangement. The writer makes use of appropriate paragraphing, dividing the response into a clear introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing sides, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to link ideas, such as 'One major advantage', 'Another benefit', 'However', and 'In conclusion'. Referencing is generally clear, though minor improvements in cohesive flexibility could push the organizational flow to a higher standard.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'greenhouse gases', 'carbon emissions', and 'sustainable alternatives'. However, there are some noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'althogether', 'buisenesses', 'enviormental', 'challeging', 'relatioships', 'lesser', and the misuse of 'pupils' instead of people or students. These errors do not impede communication, but they reflect the ceiling of this band level where lexical control lacks full precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a willingness to employ relative clauses and conditional structures. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as 'In recent year' instead of years, and 'can can encourage', but these errors rarely impede communication and do not obscure the meaning. The writer shows good overall control of sentence structures, placing the text firmly within this band, though achieving error-free complex sentences more consistently would be required for a higher score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.