Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-22

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, many people are prefer to visit famous places to take images of themselves, without watching at the place. Although, it is good thing to take photographs but I believe that, it is a negative development to take photos only because it is crucial to look at the place and explore about that place to increase their knowledge and also learn about culture. This essay will discuss the reasons why this is happening.

First and foremost reason of this negative trend is because of spreading competition on social media, everyone wants to take photos only and then they want to upload that on Instagram or Facebook accounts to show their enjoyment to their audience. Moreover, most of the younger people are usually explore adventurous areas only for capturing the moments of themself in their cameras. For example, many ticktokers are only prefer to make videos of their face only to speak in front of their fans to show that they are present on modern areas but they do not know anything about that particular location. Thus, to compete on social media and for the sake of fans individuals are now only capture their photographs.

Another significant reason behind this trend is that humans do not have knowledge about the importance of exploring things about that place or even they do not have any interest to learn about history, tradition, and culture of popular cities. Furthermore, parents of todays modern world are mostly influence their children only towards cartoons or game. For instance, in many schools of Pakistan, their is a lack of history subjects in academic curriculum about the rich history of famous areas. Therefore it leads to decrease interest of school going children to look at famous places after going there.

In conclusion, no doubt it is not bad to take snaps of themselves but should also explore the different aspects of that well known place to broaden their knowledge about that city. In my opinion, it is a negative trend to capture only their snapshots without watching at the place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions: social-media competition is offered as a reason, and your position that the trend is negative is clear in the introduction and conclusion. The examples about posting on Instagram or Facebook and filming at popular locations are relevant. However, the second explanation—limited interest in history and the influence of parents and school curricula—is less clearly connected to why visitors focus on selfies, and the Pakistan school example is asserted rather than explained. The response would be stronger if each reason were developed through a clearer cause-and-effect link and supported with a specific example. Your view that taking photographs is not inherently bad adds useful qualification, but the essay could explain more directly what visitors lose by not engaging with the place itself.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting reasons, and a conclusion that restates your view. Sequencing phrases such as “First and foremost,” “Moreover,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Thus” repeats the point about social media rather than showing a new consequence, while the transition from parents’ influence to the lack of history subjects in schools is not fully explained. Some references, such as “that” in “upload that,” are also unclear. To improve progression, make the relationship between each example and its main idea explicit, and use fewer formulaic connectors in favour of precise links between claims.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “social media,” “adventurous areas,” “history, tradition, and culture,” and “academic curriculum.” These choices make the subject clear, and phrases such as “broaden their knowledge” show an attempt to use more precise language. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, including “watching at the place,” “spreading competition,” “modern areas,” and repeated uses of “capture” and “photos.” There are also spelling or form errors such as “ticktokers” and “themself.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce naturalness and precision. Build accuracy by learning common collocations for sightseeing and social-media behaviour, and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a concession in “Although … but I believe” and a relative clause in “areas … which …”. The overall meaning is generally understandable, but some errors recur in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “many people are prefer” should use either “many people prefer” or “many people are choosing”; “most of the younger people are usually explore” has an incorrect verb pattern; and “parents … are mostly influence” needs a passive or a different verb form. The opening also combines “Although” and “but” unnecessarily. Aim to produce accurate basic clauses first, then add subordinate clauses, checking subject–verb agreement and verb patterns in each sentence.

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