Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Some people have decided to to reduce the number of times they fly per year or to stop flying altogether for environmental benefits. There are two ways to look at it: intent to make better decisions for a better enviromnment and negative effects of flying as an individual or a business.

Reduction of travel by plane may lead to environmental benefits such as protection of ozone layer, keeps air pollution and noise pollution under control, etc. Many people are mindful of their actions leading to the outcomes they bring to the environment. This awareness makes a huge impact in the environment as well as it encourages other people to adapt the same values. However, I believe that there are some disadvantages for individuals and businesses. In order to get from one place to another quickly people needs air transportation. If the destination is far from their location they might not have an option but to hop on a flight. There are other alternatives like buses, trains and ships but they are not efficient. These means of transportation are cheaper however, they are not faster than a flight. In the same way, other ways of transportation are not as comfortable as airways. People generally prefer flying rather than travelling by road or the water. This is due to the perks of flying like reaching the destination as quickly as possible, it provides food on the journey, there is travel safety as there are many security checks before boarding a flight, etc.

At the same time, there are limited options of travelling overseas like airways and waterways. The ships take a long time to reach the destination and there is a long immigration process of entering a different county by water. Some people also suffer severe dizziness and vommiting due to heavy waves. So, people prefer travelling by air more than that of a ship.

To conclude, yes, I do think that there are more disadvantages for individuals and businesses to not travel through air. However, people should try to use other means of transportation if they possibly can for the welfare of the environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for individuals and businesses, and your conclusion gives a clear view: you believe the disadvantages of reducing air travel are greater, while still recommending alternatives where possible. The environmental points about pollution and encouraging others to make mindful choices are relevant, but they are asserted rather than explained with specific examples. The disadvantages are developed more fully through speed, comfort, overseas travel and the limitations of ships, although the business impact is barely discussed. To strengthen the response, explain how reduced flying affects businesses—for example, international meetings or tourism—and weigh those effects directly against the environmental gains. The response meets the task’s length requirement; eight words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall structure, moving from environmental benefits to disadvantages and then to a conclusion. Paragraphing helps separate the main discussion from the point about overseas travel, and transitions such as “However,” “At the same time,” and “To conclude” make the direction of the argument visible. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the opening promises two perspectives, but the environmental discussion is brief before the essay shifts to individual convenience. Several points about speed, comfort and preference overlap, while the business aspect is not given a distinct place. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “There are” and “In the same way.” Group related reasons more tightly and use clearer references to show how each point supports your overall comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to discuss the topic, including relevant terms such as “air pollution,” “noise pollution,” “transportation,” “immigration process” and “environmental benefits.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “mindful of their actions” and “welfare of the environment.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “adapt the same values,” “travel safety,” and “heavy waves.” Spelling errors such as “enviromnment,” “county” for “country,” and “vommiting” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural topic-specific combinations and check spelling carefully. For example, describe people as adopting values, refer to safety measures, and use precise language for the physical effects of sea travel.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including conditional language in “If the destination is far from their location…” and a contrast introduced by “However.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. Examples include the duplicated infinitive in “decided to to reduce,” the subject–verb disagreement in “people needs,” and the faulty construction “Reduction of travel by plane may lead to … keeps air pollution … under control.” The sentence beginning “This is due to the perks of flying” also has an unclear structure because several benefits are joined in a list. Work on agreement, parallel sentence structure and punctuation when listing reasons. More accurate control of these forms would make the argument easier to follow.

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