Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12

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)

First of all its not a modern activity. Always photographers capture life of famous people. Even before the camera was invented professional painters painted the photographs of famous people and their life events. But nowadays it becomes more common so Some people have positive opinions on it while some have opposite opinions on it. In this essay we will discuss both side arguments on it and try to reach on a conclusion on it.

Some people who have positive opinions on it say that this is a good thing because the public are interested in their lives. Professionals always try to do things which are more demanding and get them reach to more and more public so they do it. Because of it both the public and the photographers are benefited, one get their audience and another get the information in which they have interest. Like Virat Kohli come to Rajasthan to visit historical forts and his rajasthani fans know about it by the professional photographers and some of them success to get a autograph from Virat Kohli.

But it only one side of a coin, another side is if all professional photographers only follow the famous people than a common man's life, their issue, important current issues etc all relevant things leftout from captured.

So in the and we can say that balance in everything is essential. Capturing the life of famous people is important while it is also important to understand that its not only responsibilities of famous photographers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on paparazzi culture and providing a personal opinion in the conclusion, stating that balance is essential. Ideas are generally relevant, such as the mention of fans benefiting or common issues being ignored, but they remain somewhat under-developed and lack extended elaboration. For example, the illustration involving Virat Kohli visiting Rajasthan is given as a brief anecdote rather than being fully utilised to support the argument. The position is discernible throughout the essay, yet the development of ideas aligns most closely with the Band 6 descriptor, where all parts are addressed though certain aspects lack depth and clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding stance. Paragraphing is utilised, separating the introduction, two body viewpoints, and conclusion appropriately. However, cohesion is at times faulty and mechanical, evident in repetitive transitions such as 'Some people who have positive opinions on it say that...' and repetitive linking structures like 'on it'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'one get their audience and another get the information'. Paragraph transitions could be smoother and more varied to avoid repetitive phrasing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and topic-related words such as 'professional photographers', 'historical forts', and 'responsibilities'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'painted the photographs', 'leftout from captured', and 'balance in everything is essential'. Spelling and word formation errors also appear, for instance 'in the and' instead of 'in the end'. While these lexical inadequacies are noticeable, they do not severely impede overall communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'Even before the camera was invented professional painters painted the photographs...' and 'if all professional photographers only follow the famous people than a common man's life...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, including missing apostrophes ('its not a modern activity', 'its not only responsibilities'), incorrect prepositions ('reach to more and more public', 'reach on a conclusion'), and confusion between words like 'than' and 'then'. These errors sometimes cause minor difficulty for the reader, but basic meaning remains understandable.

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