Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-28

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 5.0)

Many people decided to reduce the number of times they fly every year or stop flying at all.I believe the environmental benefits of this development outweigh the drawbacks for individual and busniess .

one of the major adavantage reduce the carbon emission and air pollution. pollution which is harmful for life on earth. The secound advantage is that save times, such as people goes to another countries for busniess meetings .the online meetings on the zoom app is more flexible.people can use busses and trains for nearest places intstead of aeroplane and waitings in airport for checking and protocols .

in contrast the biggest disdavantage is that air pollution which causes health problems such as lungs cancer, asthma .its also effect the climate.some people can have problems to visit their family members .who live abroad .they cannot attend their marriges and funerals.its can also led to busniess loss and cannot attend the face to face meetings .and also the people did not explore the new places .

in conclusion there are multiple disadvantages but the advantages outweigh them in terms of protecting the enivorment. although reducing air travel can make it more difficult for individuals to visit their families and for busniess to meet clients. people should reduce unncessary flights and choes more enviromentally friendly ways of travelling whenever possible.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear overall view that the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and you mention relevant effects on emissions, family visits and business meetings. However, the response addresses the question only partially: the benefits are not consistently explained, and the point that flying less “save times” is unclear and does not establish an environmental benefit. The disadvantages are listed, but several need explanation or examples to show their significance. The response also contains 200 words, so it is 50 words below the required minimum; this limits the space available to develop and support your ideas. To strengthen the response, explain how reduced flying benefits the environment and compare those gains directly with the personal and business costs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation: you state your position, present points in separate paragraphs and finish with a conclusion. The reader can identify a general contrast between benefits and disadvantages. However, progression within the paragraphs is weak, and the links between ideas are sometimes unclear. For example, the paragraph beginning “one of the major advantage” moves from emissions to saving time and then to buses and airport procedures without explaining how these points connect. The transition “in contrast” signals a change, but the following discussion mixes environmental effects with family and business disadvantages. Use a clearer paragraph plan, with one main idea developed at a time, and connect each example explicitly to your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “carbon emission,” “air pollution,” “climate,” and “face to face meetings,” so the main subject is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts difficult to understand, such as “busniess,” “adavantage,” “disdavantage,” and “enivorment.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural, including “save times” and “the people did not explore the new places.” Aim to use accurate collocations and vary the language for environmental impact and travel-related costs. Proofreading spelling and choosing precise expressions will make your ideas clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall position can usually be understood. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and frequent errors in sentence formation, verb forms, agreement, articles and punctuation sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “one of the major adavantage reduce,” “people goes to another countries,” and “its also effect the climate.” Sentence boundaries are also unclear in places, such as where a full stop is followed immediately by “I believe” or a new idea begins with a lowercase letter. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and punctuation before submitting.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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