Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12

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)

An increasing trend of travelling across the world and clicking bucket load of pictures with the popular attractions of a renowned place is very evident these days. This shift has become prominent after social media and technological advancements; I reckon it as a rather negative drift in society over a small portion of positive it brings.

Social media has brought the world closer without any doubt but it has also cultivated the culture of extreme comparision amongst people. Sharing personal images of trips and vacations around the world has become a part and parcel of modern-day society. This gives rise to comparision and a want to show-off in the soicety to get a sense of belongingness in the world. Individuals are inclined towards sharing their photographs at well-known places to flaunt among their friends and relatives in search of external validation to stay happy. While this gives a temporary dopamine rush, it traps humans in a rabbit hole of seeking that rush through external factors. In one instance my friend had an accident and had to stay home for an extended period so he could not travel and share on Instagram; this made him arrogant towards his family. Instead of enjoying the time with parents and siblings, he was craving to go out and enjoy on his own.

On the counterpart, this change may bring certain benefits such as making new connections with like-minded people and getting different experiences but it miserably fails to serve the purpose of enjoying the moment. People are more concerned about what others think while they should be celebrating the time admiring the beauty of places they visit.

Overall, in the race to present oneself as best and superior, people are foregetting to enjoy the life and show gratitude towards the opportunities that they have to experience the world. This trend has narrowed down the distance around the world but has successfully created distance from the individual themselves and their close ones.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by explaining why people visit well-known places to take photographs without looking at them, and gives a clear position regarding whether this is a positive or negative trend. The response is well-supported with relevant explanations, particularly focusing on social media influence, dopamine loops, and the pressure of external validation. Ideas are adequately extended throughout the body paragraphs. For instance, the discussion on how social media cultivates extreme comparison and pushes individuals toward flaunting lifestyle elements demonstrates good critical engagement with the prompt. Although the personal anecdote about the friend is slightly anecdotal, it serves to illustrate the broader behavioral point. Overall, the task is fully covered, meeting the requirements of a Band 7.0 standard.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the introduction and thesis statement to specific reasons involving social media, counterarguments, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Social media has brought...', 'While this gives...', and 'On the counterpart,' though some minor lexical choices in transition are slightly unnatural ('On the counterpart' instead of 'On the flip side' or 'On the other hand'). Paragraphing is applied appropriately with clear divisions between ideas. The referencing of ideas and entities remains generally clear, maintaining reader engagement and ensuring a coherent overall arrangement, which aligns comfortably with a Band 7.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, employing less common lexical items such as 'bucket load', 'prominent', 'external validation', 'dopamine rush', and 'rabbit hole'. However, there are a few noticeable spelling and word choice inaccuracies that prevent a higher score, such as 'comparision' instead of 'comparison', 'soicety' instead of 'society', and 'foregetting' instead of 'forgetting'. Collocations are mostly acceptable, but phrases like 'clicking bucket load of pictures' are overly informal for an IELTS task. Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey precise meaning without impeding communication, fitting the Band 6.5 profile closely, rounded to a solid 6.0 based on precision frequency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating conditional structures and subordinate clauses effectively, as seen in 'While this gives a temporary dopamine rush, it traps humans in a rabbit hole...' and 'Individuals are inclined towards sharing their photographs... to flaunt among their friends...'. There are a few grammatical errors and typos present, such as repetitive use of missing articles or minor preposition issues, alongside spelling slips like 'comparision'. Punctuation is generally functional. The majority of complex sentences are constructed with reasonable accuracy and do not impede communication, matching the Band 6.0 descriptors well.

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