Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In recent years, it has become increasingly common amoung the people to take photographs while visitng tourist attraction instead of appreciating history, culture or beauty of the place. This trend is largely driven by the growing influence of social media, and in my opinion, it is a negative development overall.

One of the main reason is the growing trend of social media such as Instgram, Facebook, and Tiktok. Many people have strong desire to share photos and videos with their friends and followers. Visiting famous landmarks allows them to capture good candid and give content that attract attention and gains likes, comments, and followers. As a result, some tourist focus more on capturing the perfect picture than a learning about the destination itself. For example, research shows that, more more people visit Eiffel tower to take picture instead of enjoying beauty.

Another reason is the increasing importance of online image and social status. Some individuals view travel as a way to demonstrate a sucessful and exiciting lifestyles. Taking selfies and well known places serves as proof that they visited these places.

I believe this is a negative trend for several reasons. Firstly, it reduce the educational and cultural value of travel. People miss opportunites to learn about different cultures, traditions and historical events. Secondly, excessive photography prevent individuals from enjoying the present moment. Finally, this behaviour can contribute overcrowding at popluar locations mainly for photography. For instance, during my recent visit at Niagara Falls, I noticed many of visitiors were busy to take selfies instead of admiring the real beauty.

In conclusion, the rise of social media has encourged many people to visit famous locations primarily for photographs. Although sharing memories and travel experiences can be enjoyable, I believe this trend is largely negative because it demolish the true purpose of visit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt, providing clear reasons for the trend and a well-defined position on whether it is positive or negative. Your ideas are relevant and logically extended, such as the discussion on social status and the impact on the educational value of travel. To reach a higher band, ensure that your examples are slightly more detailed; for instance, instead of saying 'research shows', you could briefly describe the nature of the observation. Overall, your position is consistent throughout the essay, and the response is well-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Finally', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate distinct ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking phrases beyond simple enumerators. Some transitions between sentences feel slightly mechanical. Nevertheless, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'candid', 'demonstrate', and 'excessive'. However, there are several spelling errors ('amoung', 'visitng', 'Instgram', 'Tiktok', 'sucessful', 'exiciting', 'popluar', 'encourged') and minor collocation issues, such as 'give content' instead of 'create content' or 'busy to take' instead of 'busy taking'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a broader command of precise word choices to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement ('some tourist focus' instead of 'some tourists focus'), article usage ('the Eiffel tower' instead of 'the Eiffel Tower'), and prepositional errors ('visit at Niagara Falls' instead of 'visit to Niagara Falls'). These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your points. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for pluralization and article consistency.

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