Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-01

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)

For environmental benefit some people have decided to stop fyling or reduce the number. From my perspective, disadvantage of this decition are far greater than the environmental advantage, because people travel other countries for various reasons what benefited them and the ecomony, also airplane cause less pollution than other vehicle.

On the one hand, airplane or flying transport have several significant advantage. The most important one is it saves time for many individuals and reduces the traveling time. Business leaders can attend their meeting to another country on big distance within a fixed time. For example, many import or export companmy has meeting on different part of the world, therefore flying is the best option for them to save time and business relationship. Consequently, flying services has huge impact on travel industries. So, if airplane transport system got stoped or reduce it's number it will directly have a impact on the economy and many company will have to face considerable loss.

On the other hand, every year airplane causes a notable carbon emmision and noice pollution to the environment. Plane and airport other facilities causes hng amount of noice polluition. Moreover, deforestation in another big insident that happend because of flying. For example, to make another airport we need a enormous place, therefore cutting forest to construck airport is the best option and it affect many habitat losses. However, If we cut off flying service it will not have much impact on environment because majority of the carbon emmision happend due to over use of other vehicles.

To conclude, although shut down flying service or reduce it has some drawbacks, advantages are much more significant impact on individuals and businesses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that the disadvantages of reducing flights outweigh the environmental benefits, and you address both sides with relevant points about business travel, time, emissions and airport construction. The examples of international company meetings and forest clearance help illustrate your ideas. However, the position is not fully consistent: the introduction says the disadvantages are greater, while the conclusion says the advantages are more significant, without clarifying which side you mean. Some claims are also unclear or insufficiently supported, particularly that flying has little environmental impact because other vehicles produce most emissions. Develop this comparison with more precise reasoning and make your judgement consistent throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion. The use of “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” helps signal the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, and links can feel mechanical. For example, “Consequently” and “So” introduce closely related claims about the economy without clearly showing how one leads to the next. The environmental paragraph also moves from emissions to noise, deforestation and other vehicles without a clear comparison. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then organise supporting explanations and examples in a more deliberate sequence. Ensure the conclusion follows the position established in the introduction.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “carbon emission,” “noise pollution,” “deforestation,” “business relationship” and “considerable loss.” This gives the response enough language to discuss the issue, but the range is limited and several inaccurate or repeated expressions make parts difficult to understand. Examples include “flying transport,” “huge amount of noise pollution,” and “habitat losses”; these are not natural or precise collocations. Spelling errors such as “decition,” “emmision,” “happend” and “construck” are also noticeable. Build a more accurate set of phrases for discussing aviation and environmental effects, and check spelling and word forms carefully. Greater precision would make your comparisons and examples clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using structures such as “because,” “therefore” and “although.” However, errors occur frequently, and some sentences are difficult to interpret. For example, “Business leaders can attend their meeting to another country on big distance” has problems with articles, prepositions and sentence construction. Subject–verb agreement is also inconsistent in “airplane causes” and “many company will have,” while “if airplane transport system got stoped” uses an unsuitable verb form and lacks clear control of the conditional. There are also problems with plural forms and punctuation. Practise building accurate sentences around one main idea, then add subordinate clauses only when you can control their grammar.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.