Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-22

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)

Increasing number of people choosing well-known places to capture their pictures without looking at the place. I think this is a negative trend and I intend to deleve my perspective in this essay.

There are many reasons why many people are visiting the places which are most popular to take their own photographs. The main reason is that the place have been popular either by the visitors word of mouth or by the advertisement.

Secondly, this gen-z generation is crazy, in terms of taking photographs. Moreover, despite showing interest about the place, they are eager about the photographs of themselves. They are even not wondering that how the place will be.

I think that this is largely a negative trend. Firstly, if people are not aware about the place then they will be in trouble, if something unexpected occurs and if they are not prepared. For instance, my friend had planned a trip for camping and she had planned suddenly, as she had heard from her relative and she was thinking that would be a really well- known place to visit or camping and for photographs. But, while she was experiencing that trip, she realized that, if she had explored little about that place before, then she would be more prepared and because of which she suffered a lot.

I believe that balancing equally is the key. People should explore well- known places to take photographs, but meanwhile they should be aware, so that they can be prepared fully.

In conclusion, photography and selection of popular places depends on each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: why this is happening and whether it is a positive or negative trend. However, the development of ideas is limited. The reasons provided—social media influence and the 'Gen-Z' obsession with photography—are relevant but lack depth. The argument regarding the negative trend is supported by a personal anecdote, but the explanation remains somewhat superficial. To improve, you should expand on the underlying psychological or societal motivations for this behavior and provide more robust, generalized arguments rather than relying on a single personal example. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not effectively summarize the main points of the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression between ideas is sometimes weak. For example, the transition between the reasons for the trend and the discussion of whether it is negative is abrupt. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'In conclusion'), they are sometimes used mechanically or incorrectly, such as the phrase 'because of which she suffered a lot' which creates a clunky sentence structure. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow within paragraphs could be improved by using more varied linking words and ensuring that each sentence builds logically upon the previous one.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'place', 'photographs', and 'popular'. Some word choices are unnatural, such as 'deleve my perspective' (likely meaning 'delve into') and 'this gen-z generation is crazy'. These errors occasionally impede the clarity of your argument. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary and collocations related to tourism, social media, and human behavior, while ensuring that you use these words in their correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the flow. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the place have been popular'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'They are even not wondering that how the place will be'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would significantly improve your score.

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

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