Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-14

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)

While a group of individuals have planned to drop the number of the flights they take yearly for the betterment of environment, I believe that the value aviation sector brings to human beings and businesses cannot be outweigh the advantages argued for environment.

By reducing number of flights people can benefit to tackle with the serious issue of air pollution in high altitude. If people were to reduced flying number, the least amount of planes would fly in the sky, resulting in the less pollution from flights emission.

However, businesses may largely suffer from this development in society. This is because lesser flying options can enhance travelling time for businessmen, which can make foreign business meeting less convenient, resulting in the loss of key deals. In addition, jobs in aviation industry might impact from this development. Lower demand can lead to layoff staff as earning of flying sector reduced.

To conclude, although lesser flights can be helpful to environment as it helps to reduce air pollution.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You take a position in the opening, arguing that aviation’s value outweighs the environmental benefits, and you give relevant points about pollution, business travel and aviation jobs. However, the response addresses the question only partially: the environmental benefit is briefly stated, while the disadvantages are discussed mainly for businesses, with little consideration of effects on individuals. The ideas are also under-developed; for example, the claim that fewer flights reduce pollution needs explanation or a specific example, and the business impacts are asserted rather than illustrated. The conclusion is incomplete and does not clearly restate your overall judgement. The response is 84 words below the required minimum, which limits the opportunity to develop and support the argument. Expand both sides and make the comparison explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on environmental benefits, a paragraph on business disadvantages and a concluding section. Basic links such as “However” and “In addition” help signal contrast and addition. Nevertheless, progression is limited because each point is presented briefly without explanation or examples to connect it to the central comparison. The final paragraph begins with “To conclude” but ends after a dependent “although” clause, so it does not complete the argument or provide a clear ending. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated cause-and-effect pattern using “resulting in” and “can lead to.” Develop each paragraph around a clear main idea, then use references and transitions to show how the evidence supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “air pollution,” “aviation sector,” “foreign business meeting” and “demand,” which makes the subject clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “development in society” and “key deals.” However, the range is limited, and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make the writing less natural: “betterment of environment,” “flights emission,” “lesser flying options” and “layoff staff.” Some phrases are also vague, such as “the value aviation sector brings to human beings.” Aim for precise, natural combinations and vary the vocabulary used to discuss environmental effects and economic consequences. For instance, refer to “aviation’s contribution to society” and “aviation-related emissions.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure (“If people were to reduced flying number”) and a relative clause (“which can make foreign business meeting less convenient”). These attempts show some range, but complex constructions are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the response difficult to read. Examples include “cannot be outweigh,” “people were to reduced,” and “jobs in aviation industry might impact.” There are also problems with articles, plurals and agreement, as in “the number of the flights,” “lesser flights” and “earning of flying sector reduced.” The conclusion is grammatically incomplete because it ends with “although” and no main clause. Practise accurate verb patterns and complete sentence structures before adding further complexity.

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