Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20

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)

As tourism has dramatically increased in recent years, visitors usually capture photos of themselves with well-known places as a memory, and to share these photos with their friends and families. However; it is noted recently that visitors take pictures without even looking at the place. This essay will cover reasons behind this trend to understand that whether this trend is negative or positive.

The major reason behind this trend is an undeclared competition; people usually post their photos with will-known places on social media platforms, like the Facebook, and the Instagram. With such posts, an unconscious expectation lies behind, which is to receive more reach on those platforms in shape of likes and posts by friends. Before the social media evolution, in-person meetups were the usually way of communication with friends, whereas, this communication method has shifted from in-person meetings to photos and videos sharing. Therefore, while taking these photos, people usually forget to know more about a place, and instead focus on merely capturing good quality photos of themselves.

I personally consider this a very negative trend, as people sometimes ignore its relevance to a historical event. Recently, it is noticed in the USA, where a couple posted a video of themselves dancing on the word war two memoir of martyrs. Their video was criticized by masses, and an appeal was lodged in the US court to arrest the couple for their such bad demeanour, some people even called this a blasphemous act by the couple.

Additionally, this trend creates an atmosphere of inferiority complex among people. An individual who sees his affluent friends or colleagues posting pictures on the internet in front of known places, an aspiration is raised by viewer to have similar picture, which in turn impacts an individual psychological well-being. Therefore, in conclusion, due to having this inadvertent psychological inferiority complex, and ignoring a historical relevance and importance of a place while capturing photos, I believe this trend is not positive.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by explaining why people photograph well-known places without looking at them, such as social media validation, and clearly takes a position that this is a negative trend. Ideas are well developed, supported by relevant examples such as the social media competition and the real-world instance of a couple posting an insensitive video in the USA. The student extends their ideas effectively throughout the essay, demonstrating a clear understanding of the prompt's requirements. The position is maintained consistently from the introduction through to the conclusion, meeting the criteria for a solid Band 7.0 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, starting with an introduction, moving to the reasons for the trend, discussing the negative impacts, and ending with a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Therefore', 'Additionally', and 'in conclusion' are used to connect ideas, though some transitional phrasing feels slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments. Referencing is generally clear, though minor improvements in lexical cohesion could elevate the flow further.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating less common items such as 'unconscious expectation', 'affluent friends', and 'psychological well-being'. However, there are occasional lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'will-known places' instead of 'well-known places', 'like the Facebook, and the Instagram' with unnecessary articles, and 'on the word war two memoir' instead of 'World War II monument'. Despite these errors, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary allows the writer to convey their ideas with reasonable precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a decent range of grammatical structures. Complex sentences are attempted with varying degrees of success, such as conditional and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text, including incorrect semicolon usage in 'However;', article misuse, and awkward phrasing like 'to understand that whether this trend is negative or positive'. While these errors persist, they are non-systematic and rarely impede overall communication, placing this response comfortably in the Band 6.0 range.

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