Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-10
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 6.5)
It is often argued that popular personalities being constantly photograph can offer benefits, such as increasing pubic engagement, whereas others believe that it could be harmful since there is no privacy. While both points are understandable to some extent, I am firmly of the opinion that public personalities should not be photograph wherever they are, mainly because it could lead to mental health and legal issues.
One of the most compelling reasons why I believe that well-know people being followed by photographers constantly can have negative impacts to the people being photograph is because this can erode their rights to privacy. This is due the fact that photographers should have permission to take pictures of these personalities, it is inherent. By taking pictures of these personalities wherever they go, the photographers are not reading that they stripping these people their basic privacy rights, which consequently can be use against the professional photographers in the court of law. For example, a picture of a celebrity enjoying a vacation with her family spread through the internet and this comprised the security of this high profile person, making her and her family vulnerable to some criminal acts, such as kidnapping, thereby enable this person to take legal actions against these photographers. Additionally, the situation can have long-term impact to the mental health of these personalities since this can caused them to be paranoid. They might feel that they are people are taking pictures of them wherever they go.
On the other hand, some believe that photographers taking pictures of famous people could be beneficial since this increase people awareness to their activities. For example, taking pictures of what politicians are doing is one way to inform their constituents that they are working for their benefit. Meanwhile, celebrities who are being photograph often can increase their popularity, thus increase their chances of being cast in a show and advertisements. Furthermore, in extra-ordinary situation sometimes these photographers can be source of evidence, such as when their photos are used in court for crimes involving murder.
In conclusion, although both views have their own justification, I strongly believe that photographers should not take pictures if people regardless if they are public or private because these people have common basic rights, which is the right to be informed of they are being photograph. Being famous does not mean these personalities do not have that right anymore. If more photographers have that respect to these well-known individuals, it is highly likely that everyone can work properly and appropriately with one another.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both sides of the argument and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the discussion on privacy rights versus the utility of photographers for public accountability. However, some arguments, particularly the point about photographers being a source of evidence for murder, feel slightly tangential to the main debate regarding celebrity privacy. The position is consistent throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively summarises the main stance. To reach a higher band, ensure that all supporting examples are directly tied to the core tension between public interest and individual privacy.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is generally smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'Additionally', and 'In conclusion' are used to link ideas. However, there are instances where the flow is slightly mechanical, and some referencing is a bit repetitive. The use of paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure supports the reader's understanding of the argument. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices to create more sophisticated transitions between sentences.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at using topic-specific language like 'constituents', 'high profile', and 'vulnerable'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'reading that they stripping' and 'increase people awareness'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of the argument. The range is sufficient to discuss the topic, but more sophisticated or idiomatic expressions would be required for a higher band. Focusing on correct collocations and word forms will help improve this score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms (e.g., 'being constantly photograph' instead of 'photographed') and subject-verb agreement. Other issues include missing articles and incorrect preposition usage, such as 'impact to the mental health' instead of 'impact on'. While these errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text, they rarely prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. To improve, the writer should focus on proofreading for basic verb tense consistency and article usage.
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