Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-24

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 5.0)

This is happening because of our influence by our social circle, our current generation. Ever heard of this motto? Its called ‘follow the crowd’. Monkey see, monkey do. We are heavily influenced by technology and the people around us. Some have different purpose. Some do to showing off on social media to seek validation. Some record and look back in the future for their due to limited memory power. Some do it to showcase in their portfolio to benefit their career. Some avoid it to live in a present.

In contrast to our older generation, they did not have technology back then. They capture very beautiful pictures and it speaks a thousand words about their past life through visual image and that’s what it makes it precious.

Unlike the current generation where you could have taken a duplicate shots, have a control over it. It is definitely a positive trend because we are influencing others with what we see through images posted online but it is also depending on the subject that we capture of. But at the same time, it can be a negative trend because we are indirectly encouraging others to follow the same by not living in the present.

Ironically, I am one of them but I do it to showcase in my portfolio as I am a long term photographer. Places and people are very different from each other and both offer unique significance. For instance, the personality, dynamic & friendship can be seen through pictures whereas places capture historical context.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring the reasons behind the trend and discussing whether it is positive or negative. The writer identifies several motives, such as social influence, seeking validation on social media, and building a portfolio. A position is presented, concluding that the trend has both positive and negative aspects, noting that it encourages sharing but detracts from living in the present. However, the ideas are often presented in a fragmented manner with limited development. The paragraphs lack deep elaboration, resulting in an argument that skims the surface rather than fully exploring the implications of the phenomenon. While all parts are addressed, the overall development aligns best with a Band 5 or 6 descriptor. In this case, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, placing it comfortably at Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text suffers from significant organizational and paragraphing issues. The response is broken into very short, disjointed paragraphs and single-sentence paragraphs, such as 'Some have different purpose.' and 'Some avoid it to live in a present.' This disrupts the natural logical progression of the essay. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the abrupt transitions between ideas about older generations and current trends. Paragraphing is not used sufficiently and appropriately to group related central ideas together. The lack of smooth cohesive links between sentences makes the flow jerky and requires the reader to work harder to follow the argument. These features are characteristic of Band 5, where there is some organization but no clear overall progression and cohesive devices are inadequate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource demonstrates a minimally adequate range for the task, with some attempts at less common vocabulary such as 'validation', 'historical context', and 'portfolio'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, including 'influence by our social circle', 'do to showing off', 'limited memory power', and 'duplicate shots'. The phrase 'take a duplicate shots' contains a grammatical clash in article use, and 'control over it' is imprecise. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey basic meaning, the frequency of word-choice errors and unnatural phrasing places this criterion at Band 5.0, as the limitations in lexical control cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and minor attempts at complex sentence forms, but structural control is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as article omissions and misuses ('influence by our social circle', 'live in a present', 'subject that we capture of'), fragment sentences ('Its called ‘follow the crowd’'), and awkward phrasing ('where you could have taken a duplicate shots'). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are frequently mishandled, creating run-on thoughts or disconnected fragments. The majority of sentences contain errors or awkward constructions, meaning the text does not sustain error-free complex structures. These patterns align closely with the Band 5 descriptor, where attempts at complex sentences are often faulty and frequent errors impede smooth reading.

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