Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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, increasing number of people are visiting famous places just to take their pictures, they are not interested to know about the place or enjoy place. There are several of negative impact of this trend as mentioned below :-

Firstly, In my opinion this is happening because of social media. This is the main reason why more and more people are visiting well-known places. They want to show their lifestyle to the other people we can say to their fans or relatives. And after that many people get inspire from them that if they are visiting the place then we should also visit and post photos on social media. Sometimes, they just visit the place because of the view and hype of that place but they do not know the story of that place.

According to me this trend has a negative impact on society. People are getting distracted from the history. In India there are many old building which are related to the history of India. For Example: Taj Mahal, nowadays this is just a beautiful building with a breath taking view for the tourist. But the story behind that building is very sad that a mughal emperor's beloved wife named Mumtaj dead before him, He was missing her alot then he made this building for her memories. Many people do not know about this story.

In conclusion, People should visit the places but they should also know the story of that place. It will help them to improve there knowledge and interest to know more about the place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the trend and the evaluation of whether it is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention social media as a driver, the explanation could be more nuanced. The discussion on the negative impact is focused on the loss of historical knowledge, which is relevant, but the argument remains quite brief. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed reasoning or broader societal implications. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the response is closer to the Band 5/6 level due to the under-developed nature of the arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. Phrases like 'Firstly' and 'In conclusion' are used, but the transitions between sentences within paragraphs are often abrupt. For example, the jump from discussing social media to the 'hype' of a place lacks a smooth logical connector. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'the other people we can say to their fans', which disrupts the flow. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'well-known places', 'beautiful building', and 'sad'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'get inspire' (should be 'get inspired') and 'missing her alot' (should be 'grieving for her'). While the meaning is clear throughout, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common or idiomatic language that would demonstrate a more sophisticated command of English.

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 ('increasing number of people are', 'many people get inspire'), article usage ('the history of India'), and punctuation errors, such as the unnecessary use of a colon and hyphen at the end of the first paragraph. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur with enough frequency to limit the score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic tense consistency and pluralisation.

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

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