Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Around the world, people are opting to reduce their annual flying hours or even abandoning flying altogether. Although there are numerous environmental advantages from less air traffic but still it does have some disadvantages on individuals and corporates which should be looked upon.

One the one hand, there are numerous benefits from people reducing their annual flighing hours. The most compilling argument is its effect on the environment in different means. Less air traffic is directly propotional to less air and noise pollution which is having a very positive impact on the environment as whole. Furthermore, less flight also means that people are changing their travel modes, which is resulting in governement bodies to enhance their trains and bus systems. Many countries have invested in steam-engine trains, which produces no harmful emissions of toxic gases which eventually is resulting in better air quality and still making the commute time shorter comparatively to the old school trains.

On the other hand, less flights have some drawbacks as well, the most striking disadvantage for individuals are the increased time taken to travel from one country to another. Travelling through any other modes of transport would eventually result in a lot of resourceful time being wasted which was previously not the case when they used to fly around the world. Moreover, some local business which relies on their imports from different parts of the world, are also getting affected by this regime. The cashflow and their inventories of such corprorates is being deteriorated and thus effecting in several financial losses on their livelihood.

In conculsion, I think the idea of not travelling through air has numerous environemntal benefits which definetely outweighs the disadvantages, though there are some drawbacks as well which are eventually effecting different individuals and corporates.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view in the conclusion: environmental benefits “definitely outweigh” the disadvantages. Relevant points include reduced air and noise pollution, improved public transport, longer journeys for individuals, and financial effects on import-dependent businesses. This meets the task well, but the comparison is not fully developed: the environmental case is explained more than the scale of the disadvantages, and the business point would benefit from a specific example or clearer explanation of how reduced passenger flights affect imports. The claim about steam-engine trains producing no harmful emissions is also questionable and weakens the support. To strengthen the response, explain why the benefits outweigh the costs and use accurate, concrete examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs presenting benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion that returns to your position. The contrastive signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the argument, and ideas generally progress logically within each paragraph. However, some linking is mechanical or awkward, particularly the opening sentence’s “Although … but still,” which combines two contrasting structures. The benefits paragraph also moves from pollution to public transport and then to train technology without making the connection between these points fully clear. Use fewer formulaic transitions and add explicit links explaining how each example supports your main argument; this would make the progression more flexible and cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “air traffic,” “air and noise pollution,” “imports,” “cashflow,” and “inventories.” These choices show awareness of the subject, but spelling errors and inaccurate or unnatural collocations are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “flighing,” “compilling,” “propotional,” “corprorates,” and “environemntal,” as well as “resourceful time being wasted” and “inventories … deteriorated.” Some expressions, such as “annual flying hours,” are also less natural than “number of flights.” Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common word partnerships, and choose precise terms rather than forcing formal-sounding vocabulary. This would make your range more effective and reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in the introduction and longer sentences with “which” and “though.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur and occasionally make relationships between ideas less clear. For example, “Although there are … but still” uses two competing conjunctions; “One the one hand” is missing a word; and “the most striking disadvantage for individuals are” has a subject–verb agreement problem. There are also issues with articles, plurals, and sentence construction, as in “less flight also means” and “which produces … which eventually is resulting.” Review agreement and clause structure, and edit long sentences into clearer units. More consistently accurate complex sentences would improve control.

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