Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-31

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)

Nowadays, some individuas argue that they decide to stop air travel. In my opninon,although this trend is drawbacks for some people and businesses, the enviormental benefits are far more significant.

On the one hand, reducing flights have several disadvantages. Firstly, it has huge impact on students.If they stop flight it has harmful effects on students. To illustrates this students want to go abroad to purse higher education and explore all over the world.

Secondly, many businesses are effected by this. Many company depends on international travel and trade. Without face to face interaction it is difficult to build trust. Employees travel by plane to contact other company CEO.

On the other hand, enviormental benefits are less indespensible. Planes reduce a lot of greenhouse impact which is detrimental to our plannet.

For instance, a plane emit a lot of pollution than a person done in the whole year. Furthemore, more changes are alternate by train and buses which is enviormental friendy and convient.

In conclusion, although flight is more beneficial for business and better career ,I believe postive effect on enviormment outweigh the disadvantages . Protecting our plannet for future generation is more crucial than comfort of frequently flying, this small sacrifies can lead a heavier benefits .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you believe the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and you address both individuals and businesses. The points about students studying abroad and companies needing face-to-face contact are relevant, as is the concern about aircraft emissions. However, the response only partially develops these ideas. For example, the claim that flying has “harmful effects on students” is repeated rather than explained, and the comparison between one plane’s pollution and a person’s yearly emissions is not supported with detail. The environmental argument also needs a clearer explanation of how fewer flights would reduce harm. The response is 43 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop and support your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for disadvantages and benefits, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “Secondly,” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the main contrast. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weak: the student example repeats the idea of stopping flights without adding a clear consequence, while the business paragraph moves quickly from trade to trust and employee travel. The link between the environmental claim and the proposed use of trains and buses also needs to be made more explicit. Use cohesive devices to show cause and effect, and develop each paragraph around one main point rather than relying mainly on listing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “greenhouse,” “international travel and trade,” “pollution,” and “environmental benefits,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several spelling errors make the writing less clear, such as “individuas,” “enviormental,” “plannet,” and “sacrifies.” Some word combinations are also inaccurate or unclear: “huge impact on students,” “greenhouse impact,” and “a heavier benefits” do not express the intended meanings naturally. Aim to learn accurate collocations for this topic, such as “carbon emissions,” “rely on air travel,” and “environmental impact,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish the effects on individuals, businesses, and the climate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few complex forms, including “although this trend…” and the conditional idea “Without face to face interaction it is difficult to build trust.” However, the range is limited, and errors in basic sentence patterns and agreement occur often enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “reducing flights have” should use a singular verb, while “a plane emit” needs a plural subject or a singular verb form. The sentence beginning “To illustrates this” is also not grammatically complete in its current form, and the final sentence joins ideas with unclear punctuation. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then extend them with clauses using “because,” “although,” and “which.”

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