Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-07-28

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people regard work as the most important thing in life and have little interest in anything else. Other people are more enthusiastic about their hobbies and leisure interests than their jobs.

Discuss both these attitudes and give your own opinion.

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 7.0)

It is widely accepted that the economy is progressing to become fully digital in the coming times, which suggests that the public would not be able to use cash anymore for payments and likely all the transactions will be done by either card or with the phones. Although it is challenging to adopt new technology in order to cope up with this trend, I agree that this is most certain to happen in the future as the advantages associated with this trend in the terms of convenience and corruption prevention outweigh the related disadvantage.

To commence with, the primary catalyst for the trend to go paperless and use digital currency is convenience. Since people do not need to carry large amounts of cash with them in order to do shopping, using cards or paying through phones give them comfort and flexibility to shop without the worry of the money being lost or stolen. Furthermore, the revolution which this breakthrough innovation has brought is preventing corruption at many levels. This is because the corrupt officials cannot hide the black money earned by unethical means if all the transactions are done digitally. As a result, the society as a whole strives towards growth and development.

On the contrary, despite the merits there are some demographics for whom it is a complex process and they are not in favour of giving up using cash. The contributing factor is the challenge to adopt the latest technology which is especially difficult for the people of graying society. Since they are so used to spending cash it is cumbersome for them to learn new ways of money transactions. For instance, recent studies reported that 62% elderly people had problems with setting up pre-authorized payments for monthly credit card payments and needed assistance for the same. Hence the above example illustrates why they do not want to give up cash.

In conclusion, while it is undeniable that new technology involving cashless payments is tech-intensive and may need some guidance for some parts of the populace, the significant benefits it offers in terms of flexibility and comfort are far more considerable and therefore in my opinion this change is certain.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for a discussion on the balance between work and leisure/hobbies. Instead, the student has written an essay about the transition to a cashless society. While the writing is coherent and well-structured, it fails to address the specific task instructions provided. According to the IELTS criteria, a response that is largely off-topic must be penalised heavily in Task Achievement, as it does not address the prompt at all. Even though the ideas are developed logically within the context of the cashless society topic, they are irrelevant to the actual question asked.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is well-organised with clear paragraphing and logical progression. The student uses a variety of cohesive devices effectively, such as 'To commence with', 'Furthermore', 'On the contrary', and 'In conclusion'. Each paragraph has a clear central topic, and the flow of ideas is smooth and easy to follow. Despite the content being irrelevant to the prompt, the structural integrity of the essay is strong, demonstrating a good command of discourse markers and paragraph management.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic of digital payments. Phrases like 'primary catalyst', 'breakthrough innovation', 'unethical means', and 'graying society' show a good level of lexical control. There is some flexibility in word choice, and the vocabulary is generally precise and appropriate for the context of the essay. While there are no highly sophisticated or idiomatic expressions, the range is adequate for a Band 6.5 or 7.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a reasonable level of grammatical accuracy, with only minor slips, such as 'in the terms of' (should be 'in terms of') and '62% elderly people' (should be '62% of elderly people'). The use of complex sentences is generally successful, and punctuation is handled well. The errors present are infrequent and do not impede communication, which is consistent with the criteria for a Band 7.0.

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