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)
In this contemporary epoch, a significant number of people visit well-known places simply to click pictures rather than actually exploring the place. The prominent reasons behind this trend are mainly social influence and peer pressure. From my perspective, it is a negative development. This essay will elucidate the main causes behind this trend in detail before explaining my viewpoint.
One of the primary reasons why individuals are drawn towards these renowned places to click pictures is that it provide internal satisfaction. This is largely because when people's favourite celebrities visit these place, individuals are more likely to get inquisitive to particularly visit those specific spots. Consequently, by following celebrities footsteps and clicking pictures on that particular places they usually acquires a sense of satisfaction. Another significant reasons why this is happening is due to peer pressure. Many youngsters nowadays pressurise themselves to showcase their affluent lifestyle among peers by showing picture clicked at different well-known places. To cite an example, in western countries many international travellers splurge their valuable investments in travelling just to click pictures. As a result, people can portrays luxurious lifestyles among their peers who are living away from them by posting on social websites. Therefore, this examples demonstrates that citizens are not exploring the actual meaning behind those well-known places.
To solidify my opinion, I believe it a negative trend because
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for the trend and expressing a clear negative stance. However, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly mid-sentence. Because the response falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, the development of ideas is significantly curtailed. The arguments regarding social influence and peer pressure are relevant, but they lack the depth and full exploration required for a higher band score. To improve, you must ensure the essay is fully developed with a coherent conclusion that summarizes your main points, as the current abrupt ending prevents a full response to the task.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a basic logical progression, using introductory and transitional phrases like 'One of the primary reasons' and 'Another significant reasons'. However, the abrupt termination of the text severely impacts the overall coherence, as there is no concluding paragraph to synthesize the arguments. Paragraphing is present but incomplete. While cohesive devices are used, they are sometimes mechanical or slightly repetitive. To achieve a higher score, ensure that your ideas are fully linked across complete paragraphs and that you provide a structured conclusion that reinforces your position.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your ideas, using terms such as 'contemporary epoch', 'inquisitive', 'affluent', and 'splurge'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'clicking pictures' (which is slightly informal compared to 'taking photographs') and 'following celebrities footsteps' (missing the possessive apostrophe). Some phrasing is also slightly awkward, such as 'get inquisitive to particularly visit'. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your word forms are accurate in context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that detract from the quality of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('it provide', 'this examples demonstrates'), missing articles, and incorrect pluralization ('reasons' instead of 'reason'). Additionally, the sentence 'I believe it a negative trend' is missing a verb. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. You should focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that all sentences contain the necessary auxiliary verbs and articles.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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