In the future all cars, buses and trucks will be driverless. The only people travelling inside these vehicles will be passengers. Do you think the advantages of driverless vehicles outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Response
With rapid technological development, driverless vehicles are becoming a reality, and within the next few decadeswithin a couple of decades, all cars will run without the involvementintervention of a human driver. I personally believe that driverless cars will bring far more benefits than the potential drawbackspossible drawbacks they have.
Turning to the drawbacksTo begin with the drawbacks, driverless cars pose some risks, including accidents and casualties, should the technology malfunction. Since the vehicles would be operated by softwarerun and controlled by software and technology, the risk of devastating accidents due to bugs or hacking cannot be eliminatedcould not be eliminated. This dependence could make road usersIt will make us more susceptible to hackers and software glitches. An accident, in which a woman died, caused by a driverless car while still in beta mode, caused a great uproar a few years ago. Moreover, not all roads, especially those in lower-income countriespoor nations with potholesditches, holes and inadequate road signageinsufficient road signals, are suitable for automated vehiclessuitable for those automated cars to run smoothly.
However, technological errorstechnology-made mistakes are farastronomically fewer than human errorsman-made blunders when it comes to road safety and casualties, and this is where driverless automobiles can significantly improve road safetymake a significant improvement. Although critics point toThough we point out a single accident causedmade by a driverless car, human drivers are responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties each day worldwideall around the world. With the introduction of automated cars, the number of accidents would fall markedly, making roads safer for allaccidents would reduce remarkably making roads safer for all. On top of that, millions of hours could be saved each day since we would no longer need to sit behind the wheel. It will increase our productivity and boost the national economy.
In conclusion, driverless vehicles have many great benefits including road safety and economic benefits, and it is expected that we could eliminate the software-related issues to reap the maximum benefits of this marvellous technology.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The essay presents a clear comparative position and develops both the technological risks and the larger safety and productivity benefits through relevant explanation and examples. Its main weakness is precision: several claims are overstated, some references are vague, and modal tenses shift between present, future, and hypothetical outcomes. The priority is to make the direct comparison more measured and support the economic benefit with a more concrete explanation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question, maintains a clear position, and develops both disadvantages and stronger advantages with relevant support.
Strengthen the comparison by explicitly explaining why the scale of safety and productivity gains outweighs the malfunction and infrastructure risks.
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraphing and progression are clear, and the contrast between risks and benefits is easy to follow despite a few vague references.
Replace pronouns such as 'It' with precise nouns and connect the saved-time point more explicitly to the productivity conclusion.
Lexical Resource
The essay uses a broad range of topic vocabulary, though combinations such as 'technology-made mistakes,' 'accident made by,' and 'reduce remarkably' are imprecise.
Use natural forms such as 'technological failures,' 'accident involving an autonomous vehicle,' and 'accident rates would fall considerably.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures is generally controlled, but modal inconsistency, awkward clause embedding, and occasional active-passive errors remain.
Keep hypothetical outcomes consistently in 'would' forms and write 'accidents would be reduced' rather than 'accidents would reduce.'
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In the future all cars, buses and trucks will be driverless. The only people travelling inside these vehicles will be passengers. Do you think the advantages of driverless vehicles outweigh the disadvantages?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.