Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

In Recent years, it has became more popular to take photos with famous landmarks rather than appreciating the place they are visiting. This trend is largely driven by social media and modern smartphone technology. Although this have some minor advantages, but I believe that this is predominantly a negative development.

One of the main reason for this is social media phenomenon. Where many people feel pressured to post visually appalling photographs online in order to gain attention, approval, or recognition form others. As a result, for some people it has become more about proving that they were there, rather than enjoying the moment with their friends and family. Furthermore, new technological updated smartphones has made posting pictures online almost effortless.

In my view, this is mainly a negative trend where people just want to take pictures, rather than learning than about the history and cultural significance of the place and spending time with the loved once. For Instance, tourists spend more time to find a perfect angle to take picture, instead of leaning abut architecture and efforts of making that place. Consequently, travel can become more about creating online content than gaining meaningful experience.

Admittedly, taking photographs can have certain advantages too. Pictures allow people to preserve memories and share their experiences with friends and family. In addition, photographs posted online can also inspire other people to visit that place who are genuinely interested in the place.

In conclusion, the growing tendency to visit famous places mainly for photographs is caused by social media. Although, it can preserve memories, I believe this is an overall negative development because it discourages people from genuinely experiencing the place they visit.

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 evaluation of whether it is positive or negative. The position is clear throughout the essay. Ideas are relevant, such as the influence of social media and the desire for external validation. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, the explanation of why this is a negative trend could be more deeply explored by discussing the loss of cultural appreciation or the impact on local communities. Overall, the response covers all requirements of the task well, though it lacks the depth required for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. There is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore', 'In my view', and 'Consequently', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as the use of 'this' to refer to broad concepts. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the overall structure is coherent, meeting the requirements for a solid band 6 or 7 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'landmarks', 'cultural significance', and 'preserve memories'. However, there are some noticeable errors in word choice and collocation. For example, you wrote 'visually appalling' when you likely meant 'visually appealing', and 'leaning abut' instead of 'learning about'. Additionally, 'loved once' should be 'loved ones'. These errors do not impede communication, but they demonstrate a lack of precision that prevents a higher score. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise academic collocations would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage. Examples include 'it has became' (should be 'become'), 'this have some' (should be 'this has'), and 'one of the main reason' (should be 'reasons'). There are also punctuation issues, such as the comma splice in 'Although this have some minor advantages, but I believe...'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency of the writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.