Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-26

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 6.0)

Instagram has developed a trend of travelling to exotic places and posting classy photos. This trend causes more people to visit such places and capture images of themselves with their families and friends. This is happening because of social media influence. This is a good trend as it motivates people to travel the world. However, this has a bad impact as it creates a sense of missing out in life when we see other people having fun on social media.

When we visit any social media platform like Instagram or Facebook, we see people posting their photos. Some people post travelling photos of themselves, while some post photographs of themselves enjoying an ocassion. If we talk specifically about travelling, this causes a mental shift in the minds of the other people. They see beautiful photos of people travelling the world, and it makes them want to travel as well. So, people pack their bags and just travel for the sake of taking photographs without getting information about the pros and cons of the place. This happens because social media presents the best moments people choose to show us.

The good thing about this is that people get to explore the world and see a different aspect of life. It also gives them a good time and escape from a monotonous life. It gives them good memories that they can relish later on. It gives them a sense of success as travelling the world is often associated with doing good in life. For example, when I see my photos from Spain, I feel good about myself that I visited a fancy country and was fortunate enough to experience it.

On the contrary, this has some bad effects as well. When people see a place on social media, they see the best of it. This causes exaggerated expectations of the place. When they actually visit the place, they are often disappointed as it doesn't look as good as they expected it to be. This makes them feel as if they have been deceived by the place. In some cases, people actually get scammed as they haven't researched the location much. For example, when I went to Lisbon, I was not aware of the culture of that place. When I got to experience it, I was a little disappointed as I expected people to be more welcoming as they were in Spain.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the trend and your opinion on whether it is positive or negative. Your position is clear throughout the essay. However, the development of your ideas could be more nuanced. For instance, while you mention that social media creates a 'sense of missing out,' this point is not fully explored in the body paragraphs. Additionally, the explanation of why people travel without looking at the place could be more detailed; you touch upon 'social media influence' and 'best moments,' but could expand on the psychological need for validation or the 'performative' nature of modern travel to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as the influence of social media or the negative impacts of unrealistic expectations. You use some cohesive devices like 'On the contrary,' 'For example,' and 'However' to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. To improve, try to vary your transition words and ensure that the progression of ideas within paragraphs is smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though some transitions could be more sophisticated to better connect the arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'monotonous life,' 'exaggerated expectations,' and 'performative' (implied). There are some minor errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'ocassion' (occasion) and 'getting information' (which is slightly unnatural; 'researching' would be better). While you use some good collocations, the range is somewhat limited. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more precise, less common lexical items related to the topic of tourism and digital culture, and ensure that your word choices are consistently natural and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most of your sentences are clear and easy to follow, and your meaning is rarely obscured by grammatical errors. You show good control over basic grammar, though there are occasional slips, such as 'the minds of the other people' (the 'the' is unnecessary here) and 'as they were in Spain' (which is slightly ambiguous). To improve, try to incorporate a wider variety of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or passive voice, and ensure that your punctuation is consistently accurate to enhance the overall sophistication of your writing.

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

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