Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-31

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)

In recent years, the mobile phones and social media has taken over the place of real adventures. It has been noticed that majority of people these days focus on capturing pictures of themselves at tourist attractions rather than living in the moment. The reasons for this trend and it's negative effects are elaborated in the following paragraphs.

The primary cause of this is due to the peer pressure and 'show off culture' on social media nowadays. Everyone wants to show how happening their life is and the places they travel around the world. Consequently, individuals feel the need to go on the trips and post the images to reflect the lifestyle they have. For instance, people who live in Dubai tend to present their life as rich lifestyle and because of this a lot of people have started visiting Dubai to portray the same image of one self without actually enjoying the famous landmarks of Dubai. In addition, people believe that by taking photographs at the well-known places, they are making memories,. As well as in the future they look back at those pictures and reminisce about the trip.

This has turned the foundation of travelling into a negative trend. In the old times when there was no social media or mobile devices, people used to visit different places to explore the culture and architecture whereas nowadays everyone is busy taking photographs without realizing they can always find pictures of every famous places on the internet, but they cannot receive the experience without being present.

In conclusion, it has been observed that the trend of visiting iconic attractions just to make memories and upload photos on social media has taken over, people should realize that the experience is

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 essay is incomplete, as it ends abruptly in the final paragraph without a concluding sentence or a fully developed final thought. While the ideas regarding peer pressure and the 'show-off culture' are relevant and well-supported with the example of Dubai, the lack of a proper conclusion significantly impacts the overall task completion. To reach a higher band, ensure that all sections of the essay are fully developed and that the conclusion provides a clear summary of the main points discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a logical progression of ideas, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices such as 'consequently', 'in addition', and 'in the old times' are used to link sentences and ideas. However, the abrupt ending disrupts the flow of the text, leaving the reader without a sense of closure. Paragraphing is present, but the final paragraph is underdeveloped. To improve, focus on ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that the essay concludes with a cohesive summary that reinforces the main argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for the task, with phrases like 'reminisce about the trip', 'iconic attractions', and 'portray the same image' showing a reasonable range. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'making memories' (which is slightly repetitive) and 'rich lifestyle' (which could be more precise). The range is adequate to convey the intended meaning, but it lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher bands. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic collocations and synonyms would enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the mobile phones and social media has taken over') and punctuation errors ('it's' used instead of 'its'). Additionally, there are some awkward phrasings, such as 'image of one self'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they are frequent enough to affect the overall fluency. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and sentence structure will help improve your score.

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

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