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)

It is undoubtedly true that there is a rise in the number of people who are travelling to popular destinations in the world just to get a digital photo. This essay will convey the reasons behind this phenomenon and provide an insight into the impact it has on society.

The first and foremost cause of this statement is that individuals are more interested in the world than they were previously is the impact of growing social media engagement. For example Many of the society members especially youngsters are now gaining popularity by just posting their content on instsgram and youtube, where they don’t have to worry about the fact that they need to enjoy the show first.

In addition to this, another Reason for growing interest in visiting the popular tourist attractions is to show their friends and relatives how much they enjoy their trip. For instance, a picture of a lake Louis in the background is a proof that the tour was wonderful. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the sound of water or mountains.

Apart from the facts behind such facade. It is misleading the younger generations towards the materialistic notion of showing off on digital media platforms instead of looking at the monument and gaining knowledge.

To conclude, everyone is entitled to capture the moments from their experiences in life. However, the trend of being able to make impression out experiences is taking the opposite direction of reality vs reeling

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying social media and the desire for social validation as reasons, and arguing that the trend is negative. However, the development is limited by the brevity of the essay, which falls below the 250-word minimum. The ideas are somewhat underdeveloped; for instance, the explanation of why this is a negative trend is quite brief and lacks depth. Because the response is under-length, it fails to fully develop the arguments as required for a higher band, resulting in a penalty for task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In addition to this' and 'Apart from the facts', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced. The referencing is generally clear, but the final sentence is fragmented and lacks a clear connection to the preceding argument, which disrupts the flow of the conclusion. Overall, the structure is sufficient to follow the writer's train of thought, but the lack of sophisticated linking devices keeps it at a mid-range level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are some spelling errors (e.g., 'instsgram') and awkward collocations such as 'make impression out experiences'. While the writer attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'monument' and 'materialistic notion', the overall range is limited. The expression 'reality vs reeling' is unclear and does not effectively convey the intended meaning. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring correct spelling of proper nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The first and foremost cause... is the impact') and punctuation errors (e.g., starting a sentence with 'For example Many'). Some sentences are poorly constructed, such as 'It is misleading the younger generations', which is grammatically incorrect. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic sentence structure prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. More attention to proofreading and sentence construction is needed.

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

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