Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-06

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 6.5)

The issue of showing off has gained significant attention recently. This essay will explore the root cause of the problem and then discuss the negative trend of this perspective.

To begin with, due to increasing craze on social media, influencers often visit the new places just to click pictures. This is primarily because they want to grab more likes and followers on the social media platform. To illustrate this, many travelers at iconic sites like the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal spend hours perfecting their poses and camera angles, completely ignoring the historical significance or beauty of the monument in front of them. As a result, the actual experience of traveling is entirely replaced by the desire for online validation.

Regarding the second question, I firmly believe that this is a negative trend due to neglecting the local culture and heritage. The main rationale behind this is that the travellers will focus on setting up the cameras and lightings. As a result, the surrounding will become more complex and the remaining tourist will miss out the opportunity to learn about the culture and history. To exemplify, In India, Mossoori hill station is oftenly crowded by the youngsters just to click the beautiful photos instead of exploring the local cultures and cuisines; hence, the inflation rises dramatically in the surrounding areas and the local culture affected very badly.

To conclude, it is clear that influencers often explore the places to get attention on social media. I firmly believe that it has resulted significant inconveniences to the travellers who want to explore that local culture and history.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the trend and whether it is positive or negative. The position is clear throughout. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for online validation and the negative impact on local culture. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'inflation' in the second body paragraph is a bit underdeveloped and lacks a clear logical link to the act of taking photographs. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced explanations for your points rather than relying on brief examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with,' 'As a result,' and 'To conclude,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between the second body paragraph's point about photography and the subsequent claim about inflation is somewhat abrupt. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'iconic sites,' 'online validation,' and 'historical significance.' There are some instances of slightly unnatural word choices or minor errors, such as 'oftenly' (which is not a word) and 'the surrounding will become more complex.' While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding your use of collocations and avoiding non-standard word forms would improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'visit the new places' (should be 'visit new places'), 'the surrounding will become' (should be 'the surroundings'), and 'it has resulted significant inconveniences' (should be 'resulted in'). These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions to improve your accuracy.

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

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