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)

It is believed that there should be a reduction in flights people take every year to travel from on place to another or stop flying instead. There are environmental benefits of this development as well as drawbacks for people and businesses. In this essay, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of flying by aeroplane.

Some people have decided to lessen the number of times they fly by aeroplane to travel from one place to another or to stop flying and use other resources instead. There are benefits as well as drawbacks of this development. To talk about the benefits, one is that it will have a great impact on the environment. For example, when an aeroplane fly in air, it spreads its engine smoke into the air, which results in air pollution. However, if there is less or no flying, there will be less pollution in the air, which means less respiratory issues.

There are drawbacks in reduction of flying, which includes loss to individuals and businesses. This is believed that there would be a lot of loss to the airlines and businesses that handle airlines. For example, when there are no flights, there will be no earning for businesses, furthermore the staff will also be affected by this. Moreover, this will also effect the economy of the country.

In conclusion, I believe that there will be both the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the number of time a person fly every year or do not take flights at all. Both advantages and disadvantages are equal, such as a decrease in air pollution, less lungs problems, loss in airline businesses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify both environmental benefits and disadvantages for businesses, and your examples about aircraft emissions and airline staff are relevant to the question. However, the response only partially answers the key issue: whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The introduction says you will discuss advantages and disadvantages, while the conclusion calls them “equal,” but this judgement is not explained or supported. The discussion of benefits is limited mainly to air pollution and respiratory problems, and the disadvantages focus largely on airlines rather than individuals and businesses more broadly. To strengthen the response, state your position clearly and develop it with specific reasoning—for example, how alternatives to flying affect travellers, or why environmental gains are more or less significant than economic costs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion. This makes the main direction easy to follow. You also use basic linking expressions such as “For example,” “However,” and “Moreover.” However, the opening repeats much of the introduction at the start of the benefits paragraph, and the progression between ideas is sometimes mechanical. The conclusion lists points rather than drawing together the argument, and “Both advantages and disadvantages are equal” is not clearly connected to the preceding discussion. Improve cohesion by removing repeated framing, using references that clearly connect ideas, and making each paragraph build toward a consistent final judgement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “environment,” “air pollution,” “airlines,” and “economy.” However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, particularly “benefits,” “drawbacks,” and “flying.” Some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “other resources” for alternatives to air travel and “loss to individuals and businesses.” There are also word-form or spelling errors, including “effect” where the verb “affect” is needed, and “lungs problems.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the general message, but they reduce precision. Build a wider set of accurate expressions for emissions, travel alternatives, economic impacts, and health consequences, and check collocations and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple sentences and longer structures, including conditional forms such as “if there is less or no flying, there will be less pollution.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “when an aeroplane fly” should use a singular verb, and “the number of time a person fly” needs plural and agreement corrections. The sentence beginning “This is believed that” is also not formed correctly; use “It is believed that” or “This would mean that.” Continue practising accurate subject–verb agreement and sentence patterns, while using complex clauses only when you can control their grammar and punctuation.

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