Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-25

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 visit famous places to take photographs of themselves instead of enjoy the beautiful views. I beleive that it is a negative trend. There are many reasons for this trend which I will explain in the following paragraphs.

There are several reasons why this trend is becoming popular. Firstly, social media platforms such as instagram, facebook are responsible for it. To explain it more, there are many people who share every moment of life on instagram. Due to this, they want to receive more comments and like on their posts and become famous. Secondly, there are many people who take photographs to show their friends and relatives that they have visited famous places.

In my opinion, it is a negative trend. There are two main reasons. Firstly,

people do not enjoy the natural beauty as they spend most of their time to take photographs.Secondly, it creates disturbance for other visitors. To explain it more, when people are standing in front of famous places to take photographs then other visitors do not enjoy it. This can make the experience less enjoyable.

However, taking photograph is not always a bad thing. It captures the special moment of life with family. The problem is that when people are spending too much time on it rather than enjoy the view.

In conclusion, although taking photograph is not a bad thing, people spend a lot of time on it intead of enjoy the beautiful scene. The social mdia is the main reason for this trend.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions: you explain the trend through social-media attention and the wish to show others where people have travelled, and you clearly judge it negatively. The reasons for your view are relevant, especially the loss of time to appreciate a place and the disturbance to other visitors. The concession that photographs can preserve family memories also adds balance. However, some points are asserted rather than developed: for example, explain how seeking likes changes people’s behaviour, or give a specific example of how photo-taking obstructs other visitors. The discussion of why people take photographs is also less fully developed than your position on whether the trend is positive or negative. More explanation and supporting detail would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to reasons, your opinion, a concession, and a conclusion. Paragraphing generally helps the reader follow the main points, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “In conclusion” make the sequence clear. However, the linking is somewhat mechanical and repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “To explain it more.” The transition into “However” introduces a useful qualification, but its relationship to the preceding argument could be made clearer. Some sentences also run together because of missing spaces after full stops, such as “photographs.Secondly,” which interrupts the flow. Use a wider range of natural links and connect each supporting explanation more smoothly to its main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the topic, including “social media platforms,” “natural beauty,” “famous places,” and “visitors.” The wording is generally understandable, but the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “take photographs” and “beautiful views.” There are also spelling errors in “beleive,” “intead,” and “mdia,” as well as errors in forms such as “comments and like.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, but they reduce accuracy and polish. Aim for more precise topic vocabulary and check spelling and word forms carefully. For instance, you could describe people as seeking online “approval” or “recognition,” rather than simply wanting to “become famous.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple statements and some complex structures, including “although taking photograph is not a bad thing” and “when people are standing in front of famous places.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “instead of enjoy” should use a gerund after “instead of,” and “people do not enjoy it” has an unclear reference to what “it” means. There are also issues with articles and number in “taking photograph” and “comments and like,” and the final sentence repeats the incorrect “instead of enjoy.” Punctuation and spacing need attention, particularly the missing space in “photographs.Secondly.” Practise accurate verb patterns and plural forms while varying sentence structures.

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