Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-18
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 widely observed that many individuals visit famous destinations to capture personal memories through photographs without appreciating the place itself. This trend is largely caused by the influence of social media and the desire to gain attention online. In my opinion, this is a negative development because it can prevent people from appreciating the cultural and historical value of the places they visit.
One key reason for this is that nowadays the public is getting influenced because of excessive use of social media. This is because people follow influencers on Instagram or Facebook, where they get distracted by their vacation pictures. This leads society to follow the same steps to visit the same destination in order to gain online attention and get popular among their social life. As a result, tourist spots are now becoming a stage to gain online followers and losing their historical values because of this. For instance, people visiting Taj Mahal only to see the beauty of the monument and clicking pictures of themselves, and ignore the significance of its history and story behind it.
I believe this has a negative impact because it can reduce the people's appreciation of other cultures. When visitors focus mainly on capturing pictures, they pay little attention to the architecture, history and culture belief associated with a particular destination. Consequently, they may return home with hundreds of photographs but very little knowledge about the place they have visited. For instance, tourists at historical monuments may spend more time finding the perfect angle for a photograph than reading information about the site's cultural importance. This can reduce the educational value of travelling and prevent people from gaining a deeper understanding of different cultures.
To sum up everything that has been discussed so far, the growing influence of online social platforms and desire to gain online presence are major reason why people are visiting famous destinations to take photographs only. I firm my stand this is a negative impact because it can cause travellers to overlook the history.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, providing clear reasons for why people photograph famous places without experiencing them and taking a distinct position that this is a negative trend. The response is fully developed throughout the body paragraphs. For instance, the first body paragraph clearly links social media influencer culture to tourist behavior, while the second explores the cultural and educational detriment of this phenomenon. The student uses relevant examples, such as mentioning tourists at the Taj Mahal, to support their position. The ideas are extended and well-supported, satisfying the requirements for Band 7.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The response demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organization. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving from an introduction to causes, then to effects, and finally a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'One key reason for this' and 'Consequently'. However, paragraphing and referencing occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in transitions. For example, 'To sum up everything that has been discussed so far' is a bit wordy and clunky. Overall, the logic is easy to follow, making this a solid Band 7 performance.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary for the task. They attempt less common phrasing such as 'cultural and historical value', 'excessive use of social media', and 'educational value of travelling'. However, there are some noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'it has widely observed' (missing 'been'), 'get popular among their social life' (awkward phrasing), and 'culture belief' (should be plural or 'cultural beliefs'). Despite these inaccuracies, communication is never impeded, placing the response firmly at Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to construct multi-clause sentences ('When visitors focus mainly on capturing pictures, they pay little attention...'). However, there are persistent grammatical errors throughout the essay. Examples include 'it has widely observed' (passive voice error), 'the public is getting influenced because of' (clunky prepositional usage), and 'are major reason' (subject-verb agreement error). While these errors do not impede overall comprehension and the writer manages complex structures, the frequency of slips keeps the score at a Band 6.
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