Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-09

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)

Nowadays, Individuals visit world-famous places to enjoy and spend their free time, but some people are just taking pictures of themselves. In my opinion, this is a negative trend.

To begin with, travelling to famous places to enjoy is one thing, but now people visit to these places just to take pictures. This incident is increasing recently because of social media trends and also to get likes and shares on different online platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. For example, study shows that fifty percent of youth do not know the history of places they visited. To elaborate, taking few pictures only to capture the memory of one place is not questionable, but taking photographs blindly of a well-known place without enjoying the moment and history of the place is inevitable.

Moreover, clicking photos in public and famous places will also disturb other travellers, like interrupting the view by taking excessive pictures can sometimes cause fights and harmful accidents in crowded places. Also, it can kill interest for many people by sharing valuable insights on social media platforms. For instance, a survey conducted by researchers shows that people visit less to famous places from last decade because they see documentaries and photos on the internet. Many notable places are also destroyed due to aggressive photography.

Overall, people should enjoy the moment of place rather than taking more pictures. Also, it

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear negative position and address both why the behaviour is happening and whether it is positive or negative. The explanation that social-media trends and the desire for “likes and shares” motivate people is relevant, and you also mention disruption to other visitors. However, the ideas are only partly developed: the claims about fights, accidents, reduced interest in visiting, and damage to notable places are introduced without explaining how common or directly connected they are to taking selfies. The example about young people knowing little history could support your point more clearly if you explained its relevance. The response also does not meet the required minimum length, and the final sentence is unfinished, leaving the conclusion incomplete. Develop fewer points with clearer explanation and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a concluding attempt. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Moreover,” and “Overall” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within the body paragraphs is uneven because several distinct claims are placed together without clear links—for example, the second body paragraph moves from disturbing travellers to reducing interest in places and then to damage. Some connections are also unclear, particularly “Also, it can kill interest for many people by sharing valuable insights,” where the relationship between the ideas is difficult to follow. The conclusion stops at “Also, it,” so the overall argument is not brought to a complete close. Organise each paragraph around one main point and explain the links between supporting details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “social media trends,” “likes and shares,” “history,” and “crowded places.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “valuable insights” and “aggressive photography.” However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the intended meaning unclear: “visit to these places,” “taking photographs blindly,” and “kill interest” are examples. “This incident” is also an imprecise way to refer to the behaviour described. Repetition of “places,” “pictures,” and “taking” limits the range. Aim for more natural combinations such as “visit these sites,” “take selfies without appreciating the surroundings,” and “reduce people’s interest.” Check that each chosen phrase expresses the intended relationship precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast in the opening and clauses introduced by “because” and “that.” The main message is generally understandable, but errors recur in sentence construction and grammatical patterns. For example, “people visit to these places” uses an unnecessary preposition, while “people visit less to famous places from last decade” has problems with the comparative construction and time expression. In “taking few pictures,” the article is missing, and “a survey … shows” shifts awkwardly into the present when describing a completed survey. The final sentence, “Also, it,” is incomplete. These issues make some sentences difficult to interpret. Practise accurate verb patterns, articles, and complete sentence endings, then proofread for tense and punctuation.

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