Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-14

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)

Since the 21st century is all about social media and the internet, people enjoy taking their pictures to upload on different platforms to show their day to day life and interests. The best cameras and phones are stealing the show with their outstanding photo quality.

More and more people visiting well-known places to just take their photographs hence, not looking at the actual place shows how modern world is giving priority to the reel life rather than the real experience.

In today's world life is all about showing off the fakeness just to get a few likes and comments. The crowd is busy capturing the moments to enjoy in real time. I personally think this is happening because everybody wants to make a content, busy shooting. However, forgetting the golden moments behind the camera.

One of my friends is a content creator on Instagram she has almost 100k followers which is why she needs to upload at least one reel daily. For this consequence she visits different places regularly for the shootings whereas she doesn't actually know how to enjoy the scenarios.

I would jump to the conclusion if this is a positive or negative trend but just like a coin everything has 2 different faces. It depends on us how we are consuming it. It is positive in a way that shooting and content creation becomes a way of earning bread and butter in many homes these days throughout the world.

However, I also believe people need to balance everything. Along with their photography they should enjoy the environment as well

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the trend and whether it is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention social media and content creation, the explanation remains repetitive, focusing heavily on 'showing off' and 'fakeness'. The discussion on whether it is a positive or negative trend is underdeveloped; you acknowledge both sides but do not provide a clear, sustained argument. To improve, ensure each paragraph introduces a distinct, well-supported point rather than restating the same concept. The conclusion is also quite abrupt and lacks a summary of your main position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression between them is weak. Some sentences are fragmented, such as 'For this consequence she visits different places...', which disrupts the flow. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often mechanical or misused, such as 'I would jump to the conclusion if this is a positive or negative trend', which does not function well as a transition. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the overall structure feels more like a collection of thoughts rather than a cohesive argument. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on repetitive phrases like 'taking their pictures', 'well-known places', and 'content'. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'make a content' (should be 'create content') and 'earning bread and butter in many homes'. While the meaning is clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common or idiomatic language. To improve, focus on using more academic synonyms and precise collocations related to the topic of tourism and digital media.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have several grammatical errors, such as 'More and more people visiting... shows' (should be 'The fact that more and more people visit... shows') and 'For this consequence' (should be 'As a consequence'). Punctuation is also problematic, with some sentences being incomplete or poorly connected. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to distract the reader. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your complex sentences are grammatically sound.

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