Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays famous people are photographed by professional photographers everywhere they go. Some people say this is a good thing because the public are interested in their lives. Other people think that photographers are wrong to follow famous people.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In these day, it is commonly claimed that the photographs of celebrities is taken by professional photographers. Therefore, the majority of individuals believe that it is a good thing, as society gets information about what's happening in their lives. However, others think that this is fair for famous people. I will discuss both views in the upcoming paragraphs, along with my perspective in the subsequent paragraphs.

To commence with the former view, there are a number of reasons why the masses are interested in the lives of famous individuals. The predominant one is the get proper knowledge about the lives, as well as they get information about the struggles that celebrities go through. To explain this, it can also be considered that, if people want to follow their personality, they can copy it from their social media accounts.

On the other hand, a few folk ponder that, photographers should not take to many photos. As they also have a right to about their privacy. Apart from this, to some extend it can also be considered that, sometimes they want to make a separate bond between their personal and professional life. To cite an example, a poll was conducted among famous personalities revealed that 50% of them do not want to share their personal lives thoughts in front of social media. Hence, there are those who believe that before taking photographs, they should have to take permission from them.

I believe that, photographers should not take photos everywhere, firstly, they should have to confirm with them, before posting it on any platform.

In conclusion, although for few people it is good, however, as in today's world everyone have a some social rights, so due to that reasons other people believe it is the wrong thing.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding public interest is quite brief and lacks specific examples or deeper analysis. The second body paragraph attempts to discuss privacy but relies on a vague reference to a 'poll' rather than a well-developed supporting point. The conclusion is also quite repetitive and lacks a summary of the main points discussed. To improve, you should aim to expand your arguments with more detailed explanations and concrete examples to ensure the response is fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'To commence with the former view' and 'Apart from this' are used, but the logical flow between sentences is sometimes disjointed. For example, the transition between the discussion of public interest and the example of social media is abrupt. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult to track the subject of certain sentences. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words will help create a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'the masses are interested' and 'make a separate bond between their personal and professional life'. Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'fair' when 'wrong' or 'unethical' was likely intended. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and occasional collocation errors limit the score. Focusing on learning topic-specific collocations and more academic synonyms will significantly enhance your lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('everyone have a some social rights', 'photographs... is taken'), article usage, and preposition errors ('to some extend'). The sentence structure is often repetitive, and there are errors in punctuation, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is usually understandable, the high frequency of basic grammatical slips prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Prioritising proofreading for subject-verb agreement and basic sentence construction is essential.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.