Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-01

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)

It is widely acknowledged that people taking photos of themselves are becoming more popular in may places around the world without even looking at the particular area. This essay will discuss the rationale behind peoples's different behavior and if this is considered positive in terms of a person's well-being and tourism.

There are various explanations why people are more concern of what they will look in the photo regardless of where they took it. One of the significant reason that motivated this behavior would be a person's personality. Individuals do have varying traits. Some would prefer that they look good and presentable in pictures even if the background place is not that beautiful or aesthetic as some what they put it. For example, people associated looking good on photos with self-esteem, which is seen as essential to their mental health. Another factor, is their social media presence. For instance, individuals want to tell their followers that they do not have to spend a large amount of money on travel to post what they considered "instagram-worthy picture". Even a simple background can look good as long as that person believes that she is beautiful and that is enough.

I strongly believe that increasing number of people taking photos of themselves without considering the place is a positive trend, mainly because it enable people to appreciate themselves first. There is no intention to disregard the beauty of a place. My point is that instead of people focusing in finding the perfect place to take picture it is best of they know their worth first. They should not be primarily relying on the background image but rather they should put more value on their inherent beauty. Meanwhile, the trend could be beneficial to various tourism areas, particularly to not so popular ones. This means that they can attract visitors even though they are not as famous as other places, such as Boracay Beach--known for its famous "white sand". They could instead offer some benefits to tourists that does not concern the features of the place. For example, their advertisements can focus on adventure related activities that still allow people to take photos on themselves.

In conclusion, the positive contributions of people taking photos of themselves without taking into consideration the place itself is sufficient to say that it is a good trend. The most important is people's well-being and finding the balance in the tourism sector.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the trend and the writer's opinion on whether it is positive or negative. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding tourism is slightly tangential, as it focuses more on how tourist sites can adapt rather than directly addressing the implications of the trend itself. While the ideas are relevant, they could be more deeply explored to reach a higher band. The essay covers all requirements, but the depth of analysis is limited by some repetitive phrasing and slightly underdeveloped reasoning in the second body paragraph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'For example', 'Another factor', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, there are instances where the flow is slightly mechanical, and some transitions between sentences feel a bit abrupt. The referencing is generally clear, though some sentences, such as 'Some would prefer that they look good and presentable in pictures even if the background place is not that beautiful or aesthetic as some what they put it', are slightly convoluted, which hinders the smooth progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task. The writer uses some topic-specific terms like 'aesthetic', 'self-esteem', and 'social media presence'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and minor errors, such as 'people are more concern of' instead of 'concerned about', and 'not so popular ones' which is a bit informal. The phrase 'as some what they put it' is unclear and lacks precision. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, it lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'people taking photos... are becoming more popular' (the people are not becoming popular, the act is), 'One of the significant reason' (should be plural 'reasons'), and 'it enable people' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors with apostrophes and commas. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The writer shows an attempt at complex structures, but control is inconsistent.

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