Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-03
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 6.5)
We are living in digital age. With advent of social media, influencers and vloggers travel to different destinations and share their experiences. Their followers start visiting as soon as they see the beauty captured and shared through photographs and videos on social platforms.
However, as soon as people start visiting such places, it looks more like a statement of social class rather than visiting the place for its beauty. People start copying poses at same place where and how their preferred influencer has clicked a selfie. Instead of revitalising their soul and appreciating the opportunity to experience the scenic view first hand, people are more focused towards showing that they have achieved what others can't.
Additionally, while interacting with nature, people are more focused on taking pictures and endanger their safety along with others as well. Recently, a video was circulating on social media where a couple was trying to capture themselves standing at the edge of a mountain in Gilgit, Pakistan. Unfortunately, the female slipped but her partner grabbed her arm. A bystander hurried to help them and he lost balance and fell along with the couple. That accident seriously raises questions whether safety standards are implemented and followed.
On the other hand, mass tourism, obviously creates nuisance for the environment. People travelling miles to reach a popular place and leaving soon after they have captured perfect selfie. The local commerce which thrives on the tourism if effected gravely. Although thousands of tourists may be visiting a certain destination, they'd visit and leave instead of chosing to stay there for a longer period.
In my opinion, vacations should be planned to refill the soul rather than filling social media accounts.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
You address both questions: social media and influencers are presented as reasons for the behaviour, and your final sentence makes your negative view clear. The discussion of copying influencers’ poses and prioritising online status is relevant, while the Gilgit incident gives a concrete example of the safety risks. These points show a clear response to the task. However, the explanation of why people do this is more developed than the evaluation of whether the trend is positive or negative. The environmental and local-commerce points are introduced but not fully explained, and the claim about tourism harming local businesses needs clearer support. Develop each main reason with a fuller explanation of its consequences to make the argument more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a coherent overall structure: it moves from social media’s influence to social status, safety, environmental effects and your concluding opinion. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these points, and transitions such as “Additionally” and “On the other hand” signal shifts in the discussion. Some connections, however, are not fully clear. “On the other hand” suggests a contrast, although the environmental point adds another negative consequence rather than opposing the previous argument. The sentence beginning “People travelling miles” is also a fragment, which interrupts the flow of that paragraph. Use transitions that show the actual relationship between ideas, and connect the tourism example more explicitly to your claim about local commerce.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.5
You use a suitable range of vocabulary for the topic, including “social class,” “scenic view,” “mass tourism,” “nuisance” and “safety standards.” These choices help communicate ideas about status, travel and risk, and the Gilgit example is described with relevant detail. There are also some inaccurate or unnatural word choices and collocations, such as “focused towards showing,” “refill the soul,” and “the local commerce … is effected gravely.” “Chosing” is a spelling error, and “revitalising” does not fit naturally with “their soul” in this context. These slips do not prevent understanding, but more precise, natural phrasing would strengthen the response. Aim to check collocations and spelling, especially in key claims.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “as soon as they see the beauty…” and “where a couple was trying to capture themselves…”. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors affect accuracy. For example, “We are living in digital age” needs an article, and “People travelling miles to reach a popular place and leaving soon after…” is not a complete sentence. In “The local commerce which thrives on the tourism if effected gravely,” the clause structure and verb form are faulty; the sentence needs a clear main verb and correct passive construction. Review articles, complete sentence structure and verb forms, and proofread punctuation so that complex ideas remain clear.
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