Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-29

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)

NOWADAYS, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE VISIT FAMOUS PLACES MAINLY TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OFTHEMSELVES RATHER THAN TO ENJOY THE PLACE. THIS TREND HAS BECOME PARTICULARLY COMMON BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIS AND THE POPULARITY OF SMARTPHINES. IN MY OPINIAN, THIS IS A NEGATIVE DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE PEOPLE FOCUS MORE ON TAKING PICTURES THAN EXPERIENCING THE ACTUAL PLACE.

THERE ARE SEVERAL REASON WHY THIS IS HAPPENING.FIRST, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SHARE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THEIR TRIPS WITH FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS. MANY PEOPLE WANT TO SHOW THAT THEY HAVE VISITED FAMOUS TOURITS ATTRACTION AND RECEIVED LIKES AND COMMENTS. AS ARESULT,TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT PART OF TRAVELLING. SECOND, MODERN SMARTPHONES HAVE HIGH-QUALITY CAMERAS, WHICH MAKES IT VERY EASY FOR TOURISTS TO TAKE AND IMMEDIATELY UPLOAD PICTURES. FOR EXAMPLE, A PERSON VISITING THE EIFFEL TOWER MAY SPEND MORA TIME TAKING SELFES AND CHOOSING THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA THAN LOOKING AT THE TOWER ITSELF.

I BLIEVE THIS IS A NEGATIVE TREND FORR SEVERAL REASONS. THE MAIN DISADVANTAGE IS THAT PEOPLE MAY FAIL TO APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY, HISTORY AND CUTURE OF THE PLACES THEY VISIT. A FAMOUS MONUMENT IS OFTEN CONNECTED WITH IMPORTANT HISTORICAL EVANTS, BUT TOURISTS WHO ARE MAINLY INTERESTED IN TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS MAY NOT LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT IT. FURTHERMORE, CONSTANTLY TAKING PICTURES CAN REDUCE THE QUALITY OF THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE BECAUSE PEOPLE MAY CONCENTRATE ON GETTING A PERFECT PHOTOGRAPHS INSTEAD OF ENJOYING THE MOMENT WITH FAMILY OR FRIENDS.

IN CONLUSION, THE INCREASING HABIT OF TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS AT FAMOUS PLACES IS MAINLY CAUSED BY SOCIAL MEDIA AND EASILY AVAILABLE SMARTPHONE CAMERAS. ALTHOUGH PHOTOGRAPHS CAN HELP PEOPLE PRESERVE MEMORIES, I BELIEVE THAT VISITORS SHOULD ALSO SPEND TIME EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING THE PLACES THEY VISIT.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task fully. The student clearly identifies why people take photographs instead of enjoying places, citing social media validation and advanced smartphone cameras. Furthermore, a clear position is established and maintained that this is a negative development due to a lack of genuine cultural appreciation and diminished experiential quality. Ideas are well-extended with a relevant example regarding the Eiffel Tower, satisfying the requirements for a Band 7 or 8 level response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear progression throughout. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from an introduction to causes, then to disadvantages, and finally concluding. Cohesive devices such as 'First', 'Second', and 'Furthermore' are used effectively to guide the reader, although paragraphing is presented entirely in uppercase letters due to formatting habits, which slightly affects visual cohesion. Overall, the logical structure and referencing are clear, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow flexibility and precision, using terms like 'appreciation', 'monument', 'preserve memories', and 'cultural'. There are some spelling and typographical errors throughout the text, such as 'MEDIS' instead of media, 'SMARTPHINES' instead of smartphones, 'OPINIAN' instead of opinion, 'TOURITS' instead of tourists, 'ARESULT' instead of as a result, 'MORA' instead of more, 'SELFES' instead of selfies, 'CUTURE' instead of culture, 'EVANTS' instead of events, and 'CONLUSION' instead of conclusion. While these do not impede communication, their frequency prevents a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and conditional-like structures, as seen in sentences like 'A famous monument is often connected with important historical events, but tourists who are mainly interested in taking photographs may not learn anything about it.' There are occasional errors, such as 'There are several reason' (plural noun agreement) and 'spend time experience' (gerund form needed), but these errors do not impede communication and occur alongside frequent error-free sentences.

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