Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24
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 society, travelling to popular destinations such as mountains, beaches and places with beautiful scenic views often visited to take lots of pictures, instead of observing, and fully deep diving into the nature.
I believe this happen due to internet. I consider this more as a negative trend. This essay will discuss the reasons and give some real life examples.
On the one hand, internet and social media help's people to connect with each other. And with the help of internet people start looking for new places to visit. For instance, my friend visited a mountain and started posting on instagram. Most of my other friends started asking him about that place which made them curious and made them to visit the mountains.
On the other hand, social media disconnect's people with the nature. While many people forgot to feel the beautiful nature and spend some time without being on the phone. For example lot of people travel just to click the photos.
In my opinion, this is more of a negative trend as humans are made for cherishing the nature and enjoy the beauty of it. However, Taking photographs is not a negative thing to do. Capturing the nature with yourself is such a beautiful thing to keep as a memory of that place.
In conclusion, people who visit to well known places should mainly focus on the environment rather than being on the social media all the time. Taking pictures is a good way to build memories.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay 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. The reasons provided—internet influence and social media—are mentioned but not deeply explored. The examples, such as the friend visiting a mountain, are anecdotal and lack the depth required for a higher band. The position is clear, but the arguments remain superficial, and the essay feels underdeveloped. To improve, you should expand on the psychological or societal motivations behind this behavior rather than just stating that social media exists.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand'). There are also issues with sentence-level cohesion; some sentences feel disconnected from the previous ones. For instance, the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph is abrupt. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the flow between ideas needs to be smoother to achieve a higher score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic terms like 'beautiful', 'good', and 'things'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'deep diving into the nature' (which is idiomatic but used incorrectly here) and 'disconnect's' (which is a spelling/grammar error). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'digital validation', 'aesthetic appreciation', or 'mindful engagement'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('internet and social media help's', 'social media disconnect's') and incorrect article usage. Sentence structures are mostly simple or contain errors when attempting complexity, such as 'made them to visit the mountains'. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and avoiding unnecessary apostrophes will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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