Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Some people have decided to stop or reduce taking the number of flights and the reason behind this decision is to protect the environment. This step looks small at first glance, but when collectively taken by large amount of people, it bring a positive outcome.

But I personally believe that the disadvantages associated with this decision clearly outweighs its positive impacts. It can look like a great decision but can cost a lot to individual's and county's growth and progress. Reminding that, there are plenty of other reasons for the degradation of environment as well, so sacrificing the personal and national interest because of this is not an ideal choice.

The main advantage of this step is related to the environmental benefits. A lot of fuel is burned by the aircrafts and many harmful gases are emitted into the atmosphere, which is also the main causing global warming. So, reducing the number of flights can save a lot of fuel and can also result in the improvement of atmosphere causing floods, rise in temperature and many diseases as well.

But the disadvantages due to this are much significant for personal growth and for the nation's economy as well. As the contribution of flights in pollution is very minor, and in the country's development it plays a huge role. Reducing the number of flights would affect various sectors like tourism, ecommerce, foreign education, transportation and many more. For example, a country which is dependent mostly on tourism will be badly effected due to this, the economy will face huge backslash. Similarly, a student or a businessmen will get limited opportunities if there are such types of restriction to follow.

To conclude this, although there are many positive impacts because of this decision but however the disadvantages clearly outweigh the benefits, apart from reducing the number of flights to save environment, we can look into other reasons which contributes to the pollution even more such as burning of coal and fossil fuels to produce electricity which can contribute in saving the environment without hindering nation's progress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you believe the disadvantages of reducing air travel outweigh the environmental benefits, and you address both sides of the question. The paragraph on benefits explains that aircraft burn fuel and emit gases, while the disadvantages paragraph links fewer flights to tourism, education and business opportunities. These are relevant points, and the tourism example helps illustrate your argument. However, some claims need fuller support or qualification. For instance, saying aviation’s contribution to pollution is “very minor” is asserted rather than demonstrated, and the effects on “ecommerce” and transportation are listed without explaining the links. The conclusion introduces alternatives such as coal use, but does not fully show why these would compensate for continued flying. More precise development would strengthen an otherwise clear response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and disadvantages, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow your overall position. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven, and several linking expressions feel mechanical or unclear. “Reminding that” does not clearly connect the ideas, while “although … but however” uses overlapping contrast markers. The benefits paragraph also moves from emissions to floods, temperature rises and diseases without explaining the causal links. In the disadvantages paragraph, the list of affected sectors is followed by examples, but the relationship between each point could be signposted more clearly. Use fewer, more precise connectors and organise each body paragraph around one main claim followed by explanation and evidence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “environmental benefits,” “global warming,” “tourism,” “foreign education” and “fossil fuels,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “personal and national interest.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “the main causing global warming,” “huge backslash,” and “badly effected” do not express the intended meanings correctly. “Taking the number of flights” and “restriction to follow” are also awkward formulations. Spelling and word-form errors, including “aircrafts” and “effected,” are noticeable. Build accuracy by learning common collocations for this topic and checking whether each word fits its grammatical and contextual role.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “although,” “which” and “if,” and your meaning is usually recoverable. Some sentence forms are controlled, such as “Reducing the number of flights would affect various sectors.” However, errors in agreement, articles, plurals and sentence construction recur. For example, “it bring a positive outcome” needs subject–verb agreement, and “the disadvantages … clearly outweighs” has the same issue. In “the main causing global warming,” the clause is not grammatically complete, while “a student or a businessmen will get limited opportunities” has inconsistent number. The final sentence is also overloaded, making its structure difficult to follow. Review agreement and article use, and divide long sentences into clearer units.

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