Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-30
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 contemporary era, most of the individuals want to travel to the famous places just for taking the photos of themselves. Rather than exploring the place. According to me this is happening because of the social media addiction and do you lack on interest in surrounding. According to my point of view it a negative trend. I will explain it in upcoming paragraphs that why it is negative not positive?
Firstly, today's generation is addicted of social media, as they always want to follow the trend whether it is good or not. They prefer to capture the photographs just to show to there loved once. To act that they have visited to that particular place. Its very important to know the history of areas where they travel. Because if outsides ask the question regarding the place then the individuals have some idea.
The second most important point is that they are not interest to know the history of that place. For instance, a few years ago I have visited the golden temple. Where people come for mental peace but I had seen the group of youth, which is busy in taking the photographs or capturing the videos of themselves and posting it on the social media. Instead of exploring the place. Moreover, they doesn't seem that they were interested about the history of that place. This is detaching our generation from their cultural values.
To conclude, I want to say that is this not good for us and for our society that we are just interested in ourself not in our surroundings. Because some times this small things become the reason of major injuries.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: why this is happening (social media addiction) and whether it is a positive or negative trend. However, the development is somewhat limited. The ideas are presented but lack depth; for instance, the explanation of why this trend is negative focuses primarily on the lack of historical knowledge, which is a valid point but could be expanded with more sophisticated reasoning. The conclusion is also quite brief and introduces a slightly confusing point about 'major injuries' that is not clearly linked to the previous arguments. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully extended with clear, logical support.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the use of 'According to me' and 'According to my point of view' is repetitive and slightly unnatural. There are also issues with sentence fragments, such as 'Rather than exploring the place.' and 'Because if outsides ask the question...'. These fragments disrupt the flow of ideas. Improving the transition between sentences and using a wider variety of linking words would significantly enhance the coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing or incorrect word choices, such as 'do you lack on interest' (should be 'a lack of interest') and 'loved once' (should be 'loved ones'). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic terms. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and academic vocabulary. For example, instead of 'famous places', consider 'tourist landmarks' or 'iconic heritage sites'.
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 subject-verb agreement ('they doesn't seem'), incorrect preposition usage ('addicted of'), and punctuation errors. The sentence structure is often fragmented, which affects the overall grammatical control. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the high frequency of errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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