Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-07

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)

Certain people decide to minimize or completely cease their flying trips in a single year. I my opinion it has a negative impact on the business and cause a little or no substantial benefit to the environment.

Firstly, lets talk about the benefits of not flying regularly. If there is a decrease in number of flights there will be less environmental pollution. Moreover the costs of aviation industries will be minimized as well. Fuel can be saved and will be used for other industries and the maintainance charges will also be reduced. However, it is not practically beneficial due to certain reasons that clearly outweighs the limited benefits.

If particular individual or a group decides not to travel to save the environment, still it will not practically impact the ceasation of the flight. The flights will continue as per their schedule and the only thing that will happen for sure is the loss of business. Saving fuels costs that we discussed earlier are not as effective as they seem to be. The main reason for that is the salaries that the aviation industry has to provide wether there are flights or not. Moreover the opportunity of business deals that may have provided a greater benefit to the mankind is also lost for nothing. A simple example of this would be the recent trip of the cheif minister which has been postponed due to the same reason. This decision has provided little to no benefit to the enviroment but caused a major loss of the education opportunity for youth.

In conclusion, there are certain people that consider reduction in their flights would benefit the environment but in reality the business loss will outweigh the negligible benefit of this decision. In my point of view the lost benefit is much more impactful than a delusional enviromental safety.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that the disadvantages for business outweigh the environmental gains, and you acknowledge potential benefits such as reduced pollution and fuel use. However, the response only partly develops the comparison the question asks for. The discussion focuses mainly on aviation businesses, while the effects on individuals receive little attention; the claim that a postponed trip caused a loss of educational opportunity is also not explained enough to show its wider significance. Some reasoning is unclear, particularly the suggestion that fewer passengers would not affect flights because they continue on schedule. To strengthen the response, explain how reduced demand might affect emissions and services, and develop specific consequences for both travellers and businesses before reaching your judgement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on possible benefits, a paragraph explaining your objections, and a conclusion. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through your argument. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “Moreover,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages. At times, though, the progression within paragraphs is less secure: the discussion moves from fuel savings to salaries, then business deals and an example without clearly showing how each point supports the comparison. “The same reason” is also not clearly anchored to a specific earlier idea. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to your claim; vary linking devices rather than relying mainly on familiar transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “environmental pollution,” “aviation industries,” “business deals,” and “opportunity,” and your meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “outweigh” and “in reality.” However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “ceasation of the flight,” “maintainance charges,” and “delusional enviromental safety.” Spelling errors such as “wether,” “cheif,” and “enviroment” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural combinations—for example, “reduce the number of flights,” “operating costs,” and “environmental protection”—and check spelling carefully. This would make your argument clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If there is a decrease in number of flights…” and a relative clause in “deals that may have provided a greater benefit.” The main argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in basic sentence construction and agreement. For example, “I my opinion” is missing a word, “it has a negative impact … and cause” has inconsistent verb agreement, and “reasons that clearly outweighs” does not agree in number. Articles and punctuation also need attention, as in “in number of flights” and the comma splice in “In conclusion, there are certain people that consider…”. Review subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries, while continuing to practise complex structures.

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.