Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-19

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 6.5)

Due to the growing awareness about climate change, some people pledged to reduce the international travels. While this development has certain drawbacks, I firmly believe that advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

One of the most significant disadvantages of this trend is that it weakens family connections. This is particularly for people who have relatives abroad and will not be able to see them far often. Moreover, alternatives like video calls cannot fully replace being present at wedding and funerals. Additionally, many countries significantly depend on tourism for their economic growth. For instance, in Bali a large proportions of people's lives entirely depend on tourism which can have negative impact on their overall growth. This clearly demonstrates that individuals and businesses will effect by reduction in airline travel.

However, the advantages of this development far outweigh its drawbacks such as reducing carbon emissions. This is because flying produces a large share of individuals carbon footprints and also emissions at high altitude have extra warming effects. Furthermore, collective efforts can push airlines and governments towards cleaner practices. For instance, a single reduction in flight from Melbourne to London, produces roughly 3 to 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide per passenger which is more than yearly emissions of many people in lower income countries. This clearly highlights that skiping that trip does more than months of recyclying or switching off lights.

In conclusion, while individuals and businesses had negative impact on their lives and economies, I firmly believe that reducing to fly every year contribute substantially towards reducing the carbon emissions and making the environment more sustainable considerably outweighs the concerns.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you believe the environmental gains outweigh the costs. You address both sides with relevant points, including family separation and tourism-related livelihoods as disadvantages, and reduced emissions as the main benefit. The Melbourne–London example gives useful support to your environmental argument, and you explain why individual flight reductions can matter collectively. This fits a response that covers the task and supports its main ideas. Some development is less precise, however: the Bali example asserts that tourism dependence harms “overall growth” without explaining the mechanism, and the business disadvantages are not explored beyond tourism. Clarifying these links and developing the effects on businesses more specifically would make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, the first body paragraph presents disadvantages, the second explains environmental benefits, and the conclusion restates your position. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Additionally,” “However,” and “Furthermore” help readers follow the argument, while the contrast between the two body paragraphs is easy to understand. The organisation is effective, though some connections are a little mechanical, particularly the repeated “This clearly…” statements. The conclusion also combines several ideas in one long sentence, making the final comparison less smooth. Use a wider range of referencing and transitions, and make the relationship between each example and its claim explicit, especially in the tourism paragraph.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “climate change,” “carbon emissions,” “carbon footprints,” “tourism,” and “collective efforts.” Phrases such as “extra warming effects” and “cleaner practices” show an attempt to express environmental ideas with some specificity. There are also several inaccurate or awkward choices that limit precision: “international travels,” “far often,” “a large proportions,” and “skiping that trip” do not sound natural in context. Spelling slips such as “recyclying” and “skiping” also reduce control. To move beyond this level, focus on accurate collocations and word forms, and choose more precise expressions—for example, explain how reduced tourism affects local employment or revenue rather than referring vaguely to “overall growth.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive opening (“While this development has certain drawbacks…”) and a causal explanation beginning “This is because…”. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “This is particularly for people” lacks a complete, natural construction, and “a large proportions of people's lives” has an agreement problem. In the conclusion, “reducing to fly every year contribute” has an incorrect verb pattern and subject–verb agreement, while “individuals and businesses had negative impact” has problems with tense and article use. Aim to check agreement, articles, and verb forms, and divide the final sentence so that the comparison is grammatically clear. More consistently accurate complex sentences would strengthen the response.

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