Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-22

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries and contributes a great deal to economies around the world. However, the damage tourism can cause to local cultures and the environment is often ignored.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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

Student answer (Band 6.0)

In the recent years, tourism has become one of the largest industries that generates significant economic benefits but the harm it causes to local culture and the environment is frequently overlooked, i strongly agree with the narrative.

Firstly, when a place become natural hub for tourists and people around the world, the place and the local people try to cope with their new environment that would be more tourist attractive and tourist friendly. The local people would ignore their own heritage, culture and tradition for the sake of tourists, they built tourist friendly businesses and places, ignoring their own. For instance, people all around the world has influenced Thailand's local culture so much that it lost its traditional values and their history.

Secondly, tourist attractions are more prone to pollution than any other places on earth, its because the number of people that visit the place not just influence that place's culture but also it damages the environment in various ways. The air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution of popular tourisms has increased in recent years as the number of international tourists also increased. Along with tourism comes many kinds of production, facility and services that can be responsible for many negative impacts on society. For example, the air pollution of many tourist attractions of India has increased dramatically in the last decade.

In conclusion, the contribution of tourism towards the economy of a nation is undeniable, the harm it causes is also undoubtable. So, there is no room to disagree that it is harmful for local culture and environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student presents a clear position agreeing that tourism negatively impacts local cultures and environments, addressing the task effectively. The reasons provided, such as the erosion of local heritage in Thailand and pollution from tourists in India, support the argument. However, the response could benefit from more detailed examples and a deeper exploration of the counterargument, which would enhance the complexity and depth of the discussion. Overall, the fulfillment of the task is solid but not fully developed. **Score: 6.5**

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

Coherence and cohesion are generally well-managed, with a logical flow of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. The use of transitional phrases is present ('Firstly', 'Secondly', 'In conclusion'), enhancing clarity. However, the transition between points might be smoother, as some sentences could connect better to reinforce the overall argument. For instance, the linking of ideas between the effects of tourism on culture and the environment could be more explicit. **Score: 6.5**

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used demonstrates an adequate range, such as "economic benefits", "pollution", and "heritage". However, certain phrases could be replaced with more precise academic language. For instance, the phrase "ignore their own heritage" could be improved to "neglect their cultural heritage". The use of terms like "natural hub" is unclear; clearer terminology could strengthen the argument. **Score: 6.0**

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

Grammatical range and accuracy are sufficient to convey the student's ideas, with mostly accurate sentence structure utilized. However, errors are present, such as "i strongly agree" (capitalization needed) and tense inconsistencies, i.e., "people all around the world has influenced" (should be "have influenced"). While these errors do not severely hinder understanding, they suggest a need for improved grammatical precision. **Score: 6.0**

Overall feedback

The student presents a relevant argument in agreement with the prompt, supported by examples that illustrate the detrimental effects of tourism. The overall structure is clear, with a recognizable introduction, body, and conclusion. For improvement, focus on providing more nuanced examples and enhancing vocabulary choice for academic writing. Additionally, work on refining grammatical accuracy and ensuring smoother transitions between points to strengthen the clarity of the argument. Consider expanding on counterarguments as well to display a thorough exploration of the topic. **Overall Score: 6.5**

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