Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-08

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)

A majority of people on this current days take random photographs of themselves on their visited well-known places. In my view, this is a positive trend that is happening right now without thinking of the results of their images.

I think this is happening for some reasons. Firstly, every individual go to different famous places to explore the culture and to be amazed of how good the sceneries are. Society knew that is essential to capture every moment, when they are in different places. It leads to everyone getting aware on how will they be getting good memories, instead of thinking for so long on how to get a good angle of the pictures. For example, young adults knew that they could get some quality images, because they knew that they have quality smartphones.

Secondly, we believe that visiting well-known places have lot of visitors. These places have famous spots, where most of the visitors take their photos. This leads to us being aware that it will take most of our time waiting in the line, just to capture at the same spot. Therefore, we tend to improvised to get a different shot but still knew that it is a well captured moment.

Finally, going to a famous place has lot of different scenery and culture to explore. We value our time so we tend to spend it effectively, like exploring different culture or scenery, and take capture of the moment.

In conclusion, we are getting more aware of ourselves and surroundings. Therefore, this creates positive effects on every individual.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear view that the trend is positive and offer several possible reasons, including wanting memories, using smartphones, and avoiding queues at popular photo spots. These points are relevant, but the response only partly addresses the exact behaviour in the prompt: taking selfies without looking at the place. The explanation often shifts to taking photographs generally or exploring scenery, so the central issue is not consistently examined. The positive judgement is also asserted rather than fully justified; for example, the conclusion says people become more aware of themselves and their surroundings, but does not explain how this outweighs missing the experience of the place. Develop the reasons by linking them directly to selfie-taking and explain the benefits and drawbacks behind your position more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, three body paragraphs signposted by “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Finally,” and a conclusion. This helps readers identify the main sections. However, the overall progression is limited because the body paragraphs repeat related ideas about capturing moments and exploring places, rather than building a clear explanation of the trend and then evaluating it. Some links are difficult to follow: “It leads to everyone getting aware on how will they be getting good memories” does not clearly show how the preceding point leads to the next. The conclusion introduces “getting more aware of ourselves and surroundings” without establishing this idea in the essay. Use clearer topic sentences and make each paragraph develop one distinct point, with references that clearly connect ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “famous places,” “culture,” “sceneries,” “quality images,” and “memories.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are noticeably unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended meaning unclear. Examples include “on this current days,” “be amazed of how good the sceneries are,” “take capture of the moment,” and “improvised to get a different shot.” Repetition of “famous places,” “different,” and “take” also limits precision. Aim to learn common collocations for travel and photography, and choose words that express the specific behaviour in the question. More accurate phrasing would make your ideas easier to understand and give the response greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, using connectors such as “because,” “when,” and “therefore.” However, the range is limited, and attempts at complex structures often contain errors that can make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “every individual go” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “Society knew that is essential to capture every moment” has problems with tense and clause structure. In “how will they be getting good memories,” the indirect question uses an incorrect word order. Articles and plural forms also need attention, as in “have lot of visitors” and “different culture.” Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a subordinate clause, then check agreement, tense, and article use before adding further complexity.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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