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 modern era, majority of individuals prefer to visit famous places for taking pictures of themselves, without looking at the place. I think this is happening because of various reasons such as increase our image on social platforms, earn money, enhance knowledge regarding famous places and learn about different places. I think this is a positive trend.

First and the foremost reason is they get popularity on social media. Nowadays most of the people prefer to go on famous places and click their pictures than upload on social media in this way they become famous and popular just because of they visit on famous place. when people check their posts than they learn about that place which they dont know and they check their posts and search that location and visit that person also on that famous place in this way they also learn about famous places. Therefore, they enhance their knowledge regarding that famous place. It becomes memory of famous place when people click pictures on that place. For instance- recently I saw picture of my grandmother which she click in the Golden temple so I learned about this place from my grandmother photo.

However, some people earn hefty amount of money by clicking pictures on famous places. In this way they are doing not only business of photography but also get chance to explore different places which are really beautiful and hearttouching.

In conclusion, this is a positive statement because people enhance their knowledge about different places, earn money and many more.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for the trend and expressing a clear position. However, the development of ideas is limited. The argument that taking photos without looking at a place is a 'positive trend' because it helps others learn about locations is somewhat weak and lacks depth. The explanation regarding earning money is also underdeveloped and lacks a clear connection to the core issue of ignoring the physical experience of the place. To improve, you should provide more nuanced arguments and ensure that your examples directly support your main points rather than just listing them.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is often disjointed. While you use some cohesive devices like 'First and the foremost' and 'In conclusion', the transitions between sentences are frequently mechanical or unclear. For instance, the link between social media popularity and the grandmother's photo example is abrupt. The referencing is sometimes confusing, particularly in the second paragraph where the flow of ideas regarding how people learn about places is difficult to follow. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would significantly enhance the readability of your work.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'famous places' and 'take pictures' repeatedly. There are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'hearttouching' (which is not standard English) and 'doing not only business of photography'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, and ensure that your word choices are contextually appropriate. Expanding your range of synonyms will help avoid the repetitive nature of the current text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'majority of individuals'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'she click'), and punctuation errors. Subject-verb agreement is also inconsistent throughout the text. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with verb tenses and article usage, and try to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures with greater precision.

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

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