Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-02
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 5.5)
In recent years, it has become common to see tourists taking selfies at famous historical places instead of enjoying the place itself. This essay will discuss the reason for this trend and argue that it is a negative development.
The main reason for this behaviour is the influence of social media .Nowadays, people want to show their friends and followers that they have visited famous places like the Badshahi Mosque or the Eiffle Tower.For them, a photograph is proof their visit. For example, many young people in Pakistan visit northern areas not to enjoy nature
In my opinion, this is a negative trend for several reason. Firstly, people miss the real experience. When someone is beasy taking selfies,they cannot truly appreciate the beauty, architecture, and history of the place.Secondly, it causes problems for other visitors.
To conclude, altough taking photos is anice way to keep memories,visiting a place only for selfies is a negative trend caused by social media pressure. People should learn to enjoy the moment first and take photos later.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
Your response addresses both parts of the prompt by explaining why people take selfies at famous locations and arguing that this is a negative trend. However, some ideas are under-developed or left incomplete, such as your second body paragraph where you mention that the trend causes problems for other visitors but fail to explain how. Furthermore, you did not meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, as your response contains only 172 words. To reach a higher band, you need to fully extend and support all your main ideas with detailed explanations and examples, while ensuring you fulfill the required length.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
Your essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You make use of basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'To conclude' to structure your thoughts. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty, and referencing is not always completely clear. For instance, your third paragraph starts directly after a cut-off sentence from the previous paragraph, disrupting the logical flow. To improve, ensure that your paragraphs are complete and use a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices to guide the reader smoothly through your arguments.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'historical places', 'social media', and 'architecture'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'beasy' instead of 'busy', 'altough' instead of 'although', and 'anice' lacking a space. While these minor slips do not seriously impede communication, they reflect limitations in your lexical control. To achieve a higher score, you should attempt less common vocabulary with greater precision, pay closer attention to spelling, and ensure correct word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
Your writing displays a mix of simple sentence forms and some attempts at complex structures, such as your introductory conditional and participial phrases. However, you demonstrate a limited range of grammatical structures, and there are frequent errors in punctuation and spacing, such as missing spaces after periods in sentences like 'social media .Nowadays' and 'Tower.For them'. Additionally, you made a structural error in the phrase 'When someone is beasy taking selfies,they cannot', where spacing and verb form issues occur together. To improve, you need to use a wider variety of complex sentences with better accuracy and check your punctuation carefully.
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