Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-04

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

More and more people nowadays visit well-known places to take photographs of themselves, without looking at the place.

Why do you think this is happening?

Is it a positive or a negative trend?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In recent years, the trend of visiting well-known places and taking their own photographs instead of looking at the place has been increasingly widespread. This essay will address both questions before presenting my perspective where appropriate.

One of the main contributing reasons behind this trend is that nowadays more and more people involved in social media. Most of the time, people visited newly developed places for an advertisement. Moreover, the main reason to visit that places is to take photos and later upload it on social media. Some people do this as a part of personal satisfaction, attracting more people and getting more views. Consequently, they become more admired. This can be easily illustrated by one example, in this modern world, on the social media platforms especially Instagram and Facebook, people focused more on uploading new pictures and videos to get more subscribers.

For my view, I believe it is a positive and a negative development. To begin with, it is a positive development in that people go to new places. This leads to a peaceful mindset. They feel relaxed when they moved to new places and enjoyed the moment. Although, it put financial burden, it will improve their physical and mental health. Once they took pictures, it becomes a memory for ever. They want to enjoy their precious time and make a record forever in their life. On the other hand, I would say that photography is affecting our knowledge and wasting time rather than concentrating the core reason for tourism. Some places are really organized on the educational and historical backgrounds. If someone attend that place and did not get the real benefits, it would be useless to take photographs.

In conclusion, photography trend is primarily caused by social media influencers. I believe it has a both positive and negative affect on society and the Government.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the trend and whether it is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention social media as a driver, the explanation of why this is a 'negative' trend is a bit contradictory, as you argue it is both positive and negative without a clear, unified stance. The conclusion is also quite brief and introduces 'the Government,' which was not mentioned in the body paragraphs, making it feel disconnected. To improve, ensure your position is consistent throughout and provide more detailed examples to support your arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover,' 'Consequently,' and 'On the other hand.' However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and some transitions are slightly awkward, such as 'For my view' instead of 'In my view.' Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the link between 'advertisement' and the trend of taking photos is not fully explained. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the reasons from your personal opinion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'widespread,' 'contributing reasons,' and 'physical and mental health.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'people involved in social media' (should be 'are involved in') and 'If someone attend that place' (should be 'attends'). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding your use of topic-specific collocations related to tourism and digital culture would enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('people visited' instead of 'people visit') and tense inconsistencies ('Once they took pictures' instead of 'Once they take pictures'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are minor errors in sentence construction that occasionally impede the flow. To reach a higher band, focus on ensuring consistent verb tenses and refining your control over complex sentence structures.

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.