Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-03

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)

I think that this topic is the most important topic we need to discuss about, In fact, if I talk about myself and my family. We have reduced Flying to very much extent.

Now at first I will talk about the benefits of this act:

*LESS AIR POLUTION: My first point would be the polution, as we all know that Planes release the harmful gases which disturb or very much effect our environment. These gases are also the part of increase in global warming,which leads me to my next point.

*GLOBAL WARMING: Now this is the most important point of our discussion. As we all know that Planes are huge and they require big engines and bigger feul tanks. This thing can clearly clarify us that it releases more gases and in a large quantity that buses, cars, or trains. This leads us to understand that flying warms up earth much faster than other vehicles.

*GREEN PLANES: as we know that there are no such planes yet which we will consider them as a green planes or environment friendly planes, and if there are some those are not capable of long flights. So, the only way the save environment is to fly less.

*CLEANER TRAVEL: Now my last point, we should use bus service if available from city to city. We should use our electric train for faster travel. Only use flights if necessary. Fewer flights encourage countries to build faster, cleaner electric trains.

Now lets discuss the disadvantages,

*TOURISM AND JOBS: It will damage the tourism and job market, there are many countries around the world whose economies run on tourism their only job market is tourism. For example, we can consider UAE specifically their capital Dubai.

*SLOWS DOWN BUSINESS: I think that important business persons who are in a hurry they will not be able to reach in time for their meetings in which they should be in person. So, for them flying is a very important part.

*HOLIDAYS: The holiday will be slower if we travel through trains and cars. It will be difficult for the

peoples whose families live in abroad or the cities which are way far apart.

Now after these here comes our most important point of this discussion which is

WHY THE BENEFITS WIN.

For this I have 2 points

*ONLINE TOOLS: Business owners should use tools like Zoom, Skype< or Google Meet, For their work and meeting if it is very necessary to be there in person the go to travel but there first priority should be other transports rather than traveling.

*INCOVENIENCE VS SURVIVAL: Missing a holiday or a flight is annoying, but destroying the climate causes floods, heatwaves, and damage that cannot be fixed.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and make your position clear: you believe the environmental benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant points include emissions and global warming, alongside possible effects on tourism, business travel and family visits. The final comparison—“Missing a holiday or a flight is annoying, but destroying the climate…”—helps answer the question directly. However, some ideas are asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that fewer flights will encourage countries to build cleaner trains needs a clearer link to how reduced flying would bring this about. The Dubai example is also not developed to show how reduced air travel would affect tourism or employment. Develop these points with specific explanation or examples and weigh the trade-offs more consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall sequence: it presents environmental benefits, then disadvantages, and finally explains why the benefits win. Headings such as “GLOBAL WARMING” and “TOURISM AND JOBS” make the topics easy to identify, and phrases such as “Now lets discuss the disadvantages” signal a change in direction. However, the many starred points and repeated announcements (“my next point,” “our most important point”) make the essay feel like notes or a presentation rather than connected paragraphs. Some links are mechanical, and the relationship between ideas is not always clear—for instance, the move from cleaner travel to fewer flights encouraging train construction. Use a small number of developed paragraphs, with transitions that show contrast, cause and consequence, and refer clearly to earlier points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “harmful gases,” “global warming,” “tourism,” “electric trains” and “environment friendly,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “economies run on tourism.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “polution,” “feul,” “INCOVENIENCE” and “disturb or very much effect.” Some expressions are vague or unnatural, such as “reduced Flying to very much extent” and “the holiday will be slower.” These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less precise. Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common collocations—for example, “reduce flying significantly,” “affect the environment,” and “make holiday travel take longer”—and avoid capitalising ordinary words for emphasis.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “countries around the world whose economies run on tourism” and a conditional idea in “if necessary.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems interrupt the flow. Examples include the sentence fragment “Now at first I will talk about the benefits of this act,” the unclear construction “the only way the save environment,” and “if it is very necessary to be there in person the go to travel.” Sentence boundaries are also weak in places, such as the opening, where a comma joins ideas that need clearer separation. Practise complete sentences, accurate conditional clauses and punctuation around introductory phrases; then proofread for articles, agreement and sentence structure.

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