Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In the future, more people will choose to go on holiday in their own country and not travel abroad on holiday. Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Many individuals, in the near future, will prefer to commute within their home country for vacation instead of travelling overseas. I agree with the trend because this would require less time and expense.

One main reason is that when commuting within the nation, no prior planning is required. Traveling to a different country requires procedures to follow, such as applying for a visa and learning the local language to communicate effectively. However, these can consume valuable time for travelers. To illustrate, if a person wants to go to Europe from India, they have to apply for a visa almost a year before the planned date because of the waiting period. At the same time, they may have to pay a huge amount in fees, which can make their trip more expensive than expected. Nevertheless, even after following everything, they may receive the visa for only a few days, and it is the individual's duty to travel; otherwise, they may again have to start everything from scratch if they miss the allotted time period.

Another reason is that traveling in the home country is least expensive. Since people do not need any permit to travel to various locations in their own country, they do not need to pay any kind of fees. They can book their tickets, even a few days prior, and can travel eventually. As a result, their trip will inevitably become cost-friendly. Additionally, there are no language barriers because all individuals speak the same language; it would not be hard for them to communicate.

In conclusion, travelling in their home country may provide them with a budget-friendly option. Since commuting within the country does not require any visa permit and there is no fear of speaking the local language, people will be more likely to make trips in their country than abroad.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by taking a clear position that domestic holidays will be preferred due to time and cost benefits, which meets the criteria for addressing the task. Ideas are presented and relevant, such as the discussion around visa procedures and financial savings. However, some aspects are unevenly developed. For example, the point about needing to apply for a visa a year in advance is exaggerated and underdeveloped in terms of realistic alternatives or broader implications. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend and support all main ideas with more plausible examples and fully explore the consequences of this trend rather than relying on slight generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct reason, such as visa constraints and expenses. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "One main reason is," "Another reason is," and "In conclusion." However, referencing and cohesion can sometimes feel a bit mechanical, and the transitional flow between sentences could be smoother. To achieve a higher standard, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices without over-relying on basic sequencing markers, ensuring seamless connections across all sections of the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the main ideas. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as "budget-friendly," "cost-friendly," and "procedures," but these attempts sometimes show slight inaccuracies in collocation or phrasing, as seen in "cost-friendly" instead of cost-effective. There are also occasional word-choice slips that reflect a limited but minimally adequate range of lexis for this level. To step up to a higher band, the writer must incorporate a wider, more natural range of sophisticated and uncommon lexical items with greater precision in style and collocation, while eliminating repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional clauses and relative clauses effectively (e.g., "if a person wants to go to Europe from India, they have to apply..."). There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as prepositions and article usage (e.g., "traveling in the home country is least expensive" instead of the least expensive, and "commuting within the nation"), but these errors rarely impede communication and do not obscure the overall meaning. To progress further, the writer needs to increase the frequency of error-free complex sentences and demonstrate a tighter control over grammatical patterns, articles, and superlative forms.

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

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