Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-13

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 7.0)

In recent times, it has been seen that a large number of individuals go to famous travel attractions just to capture their pictures and ignore to pay attention to the surroundings. The driving factors behind the trend are impact of social media and changing attitudes of the demographics.

The primary catalyst is a significant impact of social media on people's lives. When individuals see pictures of their friends showing off visiting famous hotspots on their social media accounts, they want to imitate the same. Instead of experiencing the ambience of the place, they are more interested to collect the proof of their visit to famous destinations, so that they can upload it on their social media account.

Another contributing factor is that travelling to exotic places has become a symbol of social status. This is because travelers consider it as an opportunity to show off their wealth rather than to get a riveting experience. In this process, they forget to cherish the wonderful moments and prioritize making reels or taking pictures as a memory of their expensive travel.

In my opinion, it is not a constructive development because it takes a traveler away from enjoying the true experience of visiting well-known places. The real purpose of travelling to such places should be to gain in depth knowledge of the culture rather than merely taking pictures for social recognition. For instance, tourists visiting Niagara Falls should value the magnificence of the Falls rather than focusing on taking selfies to post on Instagram for social validation.

In conclusion, the negative effect of social media on our lives and drastic change in people's thinking are the plausible reasons for this trend, which is not fruitful in my opinion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing clear reasons for the trend (social media influence and social status) and a definitive opinion on its negative nature. The ideas are relevant and logically extended, such as the example of Niagara Falls. However, the development could be slightly more nuanced to reach a higher band; for instance, the discussion on 'changing demographics' is mentioned in the introduction but not fully explored in the body paragraphs. Overall, the position is consistent throughout, and the response successfully meets the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices are used effectively, such as 'The primary catalyst,' 'Another contributing factor,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions between sentences could be more sophisticated to avoid a slightly mechanical feel. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different aspects of the prompt.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient and generally appropriate for the task. The student uses some good collocations and topic-specific language, such as 'ambience,' 'riveting experience,' 'social recognition,' and 'social validation.' There are no significant spelling errors, and the meaning is always clear. To improve, the student could incorporate more precise or less common lexical items to demonstrate a wider range. For example, instead of 'famous travel attractions,' terms like 'iconic landmarks' or 'tourist hotspots' would enhance the sophistication of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear and grammatically accurate, allowing for easy communication. There are some minor slips, such as 'ignore to pay attention' (should be 'ignore the surroundings' or 'fail to pay attention') and 'in depth' (should be hyphenated as 'in-depth'). However, these errors do not impede understanding. The student shows good control over punctuation and sentence construction, though a greater variety of complex grammatical structures would be needed to reach a higher band.

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