Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-16

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)

Travelling by planes is becoming one of the most widely used means of transportation. AirPlanes offer convenience and reduce the duration of journey. Some people have decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or to stop flying altogether. Although this development may benefit the he environment, there could be several disadvantages for individuals and businesses.

If people decide to reduce the number of times they fly, it can have several benefits for the environment. By reducing air travels, the amount of harmful gases released by aeroplanes can decrease. This can help in slowing down global warming and reduce air pollution. As a result, reducing the frequency of flights could contribute to protecting environment and creating a healthier planet of rfuture.

On the other hand, many businesses nowadays requires employees to travel to foreign countries for meetings, product launches and other events. Along with that many companies have international clients that require monthly assessments and other services . Therefore, employees may need to ravel abroad to provide assistance and maintain good relationship with their clients. Hence, if number of flights are reduced it may effect these businesses negatively or may damage their international relations with their clients and can have serious effects on marketing.

However, government should invest in environmental friendly modes of transport, For instance, aeroplanes should be designed to produce fewer toxic gas emission. Moreover, companies should also ensure to reduce the frequency of flights by arranging online calls or meetings where necessary.

In conclusion, its a prime responsibility of an induvial to take precautionary measures and put great deal of effort to protect its own environment . Similarly, government should invest in services and other facilities that are eco friendly to protect the planet for future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the environmental benefits and the disadvantages for businesses, and your position is broadly that environmental protection matters while travel-related costs can be managed. The paragraph on emissions gives a relevant consequence—slower global warming and less pollution—and the business paragraph explains why international client visits may be necessary. However, the question asks whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and your conclusion does not clearly compare their relative importance or state this judgement directly. The disadvantages for individuals are also largely absent, while the proposed solutions are introduced without showing how they affect the balance. Develop both sides more fully and make your overall judgement explicit. The response meets the required length; 27 words copied from the prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for environmental benefits and business disadvantages, a paragraph of possible measures, and a conclusion. This makes the main stages easy to follow. Linking expressions such as “On the other hand,” “Therefore,” and “In conclusion” help signal relationships between ideas. However, some connections are mechanical, and the paragraph beginning “However” shifts to solutions without clearly linking them to your judgement about whether benefits outweigh disadvantages. The conclusion also repeats general environmental points rather than resolving the comparison. Improve progression by connecting each paragraph to the central question and using clearer references—for example, explain how online meetings reduce the business disadvantage while preserving environmental gains.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “harmful gases,” “global warming,” “international clients,” and “environmentally friendly modes of transport.” These choices communicate the main ideas, but the range is not always precise or natural, and several noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation errors reduce control. For example, “air travels” is less natural than “air travel,” “product launches” is appropriate, but “monthly assessments” is unclear in this context, and “protect its own environment” does not express your intended meaning naturally. There are also visible slips such as “AirPlanes,” “ravel,” and “induvial.” Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and proofread spelling; this will make your argument clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If people decide to reduce the number of times they fly…” and a relative clause in “companies have international clients that require monthly assessments.” Most ideas remain understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction are noticeable. For instance, “many businesses nowadays requires” should use a plural verb, and “if number of flights are reduced” needs an article and a clearer subject construction. The sentence beginning “Hence” also joins several consequences in a way that makes the structure difficult to control. There are some punctuation and spacing problems as well. Review subject–verb agreement and article use, then check each long sentence for a clear main clause.

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