Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-30
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)
Nowadays, there are increase of number of people visiting tourist spots and places to take pictures on themselves without looking at the place. In my own perspective, this could be a negative trend.
Many people choose to go on a short vacation during holiday to see well known places and to be free from their daily routine of work. With the continuous invention of different technologies like camera, people are having fond with using digital smartphones or other types of cameras for taking photo, However, recently I noticed that people just keep on capturing pictures on them without appreciating the place behind it. In addition, they are more focus on the outcome of the photo rather than admiring the beauty of place. For instance, teenager group now are more interested on how they look on the photo rather than checking and enjoying the place where they are. This can result to negative trend because people will be lack of appreciation and will be focus and addicted on the technology they use. Moreover individual will be less interactive with people due to out of focus.
Another reason with the negative trend is, people are more interested on themselves because they are more concerned with the photograph they need to post in their account, as influential with the social media.
To conclude on this topic, I agree that this is a negative trend because people nowadays are more concerned on their physical photo rather than appreciating the capturing beauty of its place.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring the reasons behind the trend of taking photographs without engaging with locations, and clearly stating a position that it is a negative trend. Ideas are presented, such as the influence of social media and the desire for validation, but they tend to be repetitive and lack deeper extension. For instance, the mention of teenagers is introduced but not fully explored with detailed supporting examples. The conclusion restates the writer's stance. While all parts are addressed, the development is somewhat basic and falls under Band 6 descriptors where relevant ideas are present but under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement, and the writer attempts to guide the reader using basic cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Moreover', and 'To conclude on this topic'. However, paragraphing is somewhat problematic; the essay features one very long body paragraph that could have been split logically to separate the reasons from the evaluation of the trend. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'due to out of focus', and logical progression within the main body paragraph stumbles due to repetitive phrasing and loosely connected sentences. These features place the response firmly in the Band 5 to 6 range.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it contains frequent inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing. Examples include 'take pictures on themselves' instead of 'take pictures of themselves', 'are having fond with using' instead of 'are fond of using', and 'capturing beauty of its place' instead of 'capturing the beauty of the place'. Attempted less common phrases often sound unnatural. While the vocabulary allows the writer to convey basic meaning, the persistent errors in word formation and collocation prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'there are increase of number of people' (subject-verb agreement), 'people just keep on capturing pictures on them' (preposition error), and 'people will be lack of appreciation' (missing verb/adjective structure). Punctuation and article usage also need attention. Although these errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency means that error-free sentences are not in the majority, which aligns with the Band 5 descriptor.
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