Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-23
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 these days, individuals are visiting famous attraction around the world to take their own pictures instead of exploring that place. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss the causes, and the result of this trend.
First of the main reason of this trend is social media. People want to post their picture on their social sites accounts such as, Facebook, instagram, and so on. They earn money from youtube by posting pictures, and videos. Secondly, people want to save their memories.
They believe having pics of their trips will remind their past time when they get old. For example, they can make a album of their photographs, and they can keep it with them. Moreover, taking pictures can be a hobby of many people. Many youngster click picture of themself for their profession as well. To cite an example, when a person apply to be a model then he/she have to send their pictures before their auditions.
In my point of view there are number of advantages of taking pictures on different places. As it is a source of income, it helps to decrease the unemployment rate among individuals. Apart from that they can become famous while posting pictures on internet.
On the other hand, there are few negative effect of this trend. When people do not look at that place, they could not know the history of that area.
To conclude, no doubt it has good effects for people, but bad effects of this trend can not be ignored.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
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 quite limited. For instance, the explanation regarding social media and memory-keeping is brief and lacks depth. The discussion on whether the trend is positive or negative is also underdeveloped; you mention it is a source of income and a way to gain fame, but these points are not fully explored in relation to the core issue of 'not looking at the place'. To achieve a higher band, you should provide more detailed examples and a more balanced analysis of the implications of this behavior.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'First of the main reason', 'Secondly', 'Moreover', 'Apart from that'). The transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt, and the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. For example, the jump from social media to memory-keeping and then to professional modeling feels disjointed. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus would significantly improve the flow of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'famous attraction', 'pictures', and 'good/bad effects'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'click picture of themself' (should be 'take pictures of themselves') and 'make a album' (should be 'make an album'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to tourism, digital culture, and personal development, and pay closer attention to pluralization and article usage.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('there are number of advantages'), article usage ('the history of that area' vs 'the history of the area'), and pluralization ('youngster' should be 'youngsters'). Additionally, there are punctuation errors, such as the unnecessary comma after 'such as'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy will be very beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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