Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12

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)

A group of individuals has agreed to decrease the flying ratio per year or even stop flying at all. In my opinion, the disadvantages are more significant such as decline in the business of airlines, increased nostalgia and home sickness. However, this might also has some environmental benefits such as reduced air pollution and fuel consumption.

As people reduce their flights per year, the number of airlines and the number of times an airplane fly might also decrease, thus drastically affecting their business. It also has a bad impact on national GDP, as majority of airlines of a country are owned by their government. For instance, PIA is an airline of Pakistani government, if its number of flight decreases it can have bad influence on the economy. Moreover, overseas living abroad if stop visiting their homeland to meet their parents might feel nostalgic, leading to mental stress and even depression, in extreme cases.

However, this development might be beneficial for environment, since declining flights ratio reduces aircraft fuel, which later can be used to power houses in underdeveloped areas. Take for example a single airline, which has hundred of flights per week, the amount of fuel it consumes can provide electricity to thousands of homes in rural areas. Another contributing factor is protecting environment from pollution caused by smoke; through combustion of fuel, which is deteriorating the atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change.

In conclusion, the decreased number of people using airlines to travel can have drastic impacts on business and mental health of individuals living abroad, however it can also save fuel and prevent the environment from hazardous gases present in smoke.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you believe the disadvantages outweigh the environmental benefits, and you address both sides of the comparison. The discussion of airline business and the emotional effects on people living abroad is relevant, while the environmental paragraph identifies reduced fuel use and pollution. The PIA example helps illustrate the economic point. However, some claims need fuller explanation or more careful qualification: the link between fewer flights and a country’s GDP is asserted rather than demonstrated, and the suggestion that saved aircraft fuel could power homes is not clearly realistic or explained. Develop these points and make the comparison of overall benefits and costs more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction states your view, separate paragraphs discuss disadvantages and benefits, and the conclusion restates the comparison. Connectors such as “Moreover,” “However,” and “In conclusion” make the direction of the argument easy to follow. This shows a sound progression, though some linking is mechanical and relationships between ideas could be clearer. For example, the sentence about fewer flights affecting airline numbers moves quickly to national GDP without explaining the connection. The environmental paragraph also shifts from fuel savings to pollution without a clear transition. Use more precise referencing and add short explanations between claims so the argument flows naturally rather than relying mainly on signposting words.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “air pollution,” “fuel consumption,” “global warming,” “GDP,” and “mental stress,” which allows you to discuss both economic and environmental effects. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “deteriorating the atmosphere.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “flying ratio,” “increased nostalgia,” and “bad influence on the economy.” Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “overseas living abroad.” These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, but they limit precision and naturalness. Prefer established expressions and check whether each word fits its context; for instance, describe a reduction in flight frequency rather than a change in a “ratio.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “as,” “since,” and “which,” and most of the argument remains understandable. Some grammatical errors occur, particularly with verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “this might also has” should use the base form after “might,” and “an airplane fly” needs a correctly inflected verb. In “as majority of airlines,” an article is needed, while “overseas living abroad if stop visiting” has an incomplete and confusing clause structure. Punctuation also makes the phrase beginning “through combustion of fuel” feel disconnected from the sentence. Review modal verb patterns and build complete clauses before adding complex structures.

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