Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-23

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 5.5)

In the modern era, tourism is a great huge business which offers economic benefits to the companies and industries. However, there are many negative effects on cultures and the environment that caused by tourism. I strongly agree with this statement because it has both pros and cons on the world.

Initially, tourism is one of the healthiest ways to improve world's economy. Many tourists out there travel a lot which benefits the countries' economy. For instance, when tourists visit different countries, they book a hotel for them, experience new things, buy souvenirs, so these all activities benefits a country's economy. Moreover, many people enjoy their company, like they share new experiences which builds people's interest in them. When tourists visit other countries, they love to spend their money delightedly because it becomes their passion and interest to impress people and also to some extent they have to make money, showing their opulent lifestyle.

On the other hand, the act of tourism causes also create negative impacts on other cultures traditions and environment. For example, many tourists throw away plastic bags, and rappers on the road, or doing inappropriate activities which causes harms to the environment. Another major reason is that people start to lose their traditional rituals, instead of them they find pleasure by following others culture and clothing trends. As a consequence, it affects badly to their origins, and often sometimes to their morals and ethics.

In conclusion, from my perspective, the act of tourism is good to some extent. People should understand the difference between enjoyment and a sense of attachment because fascination towards others modern trends can cause to mitigate the value of our own traditions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by acknowledging both the economic benefits and the negative impacts of tourism. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the economic benefits are mentioned, the explanation regarding tourists' motivations—such as 'impressing people' or 'opulent lifestyle'—is slightly tangential and does not directly support the economic argument. The discussion on cultural and environmental damage is more relevant, though it remains somewhat superficial. To reach a higher band, you should ensure that every sentence directly supports your central argument and provides more specific, well-reasoned examples rather than general observations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Initially', 'Moreover', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the logical flow within paragraphs is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as the transition between the economic benefits and the tourists' personal motivations. The use of referencing is generally clear, though some sentences lack a smooth connection to the preceding point, making the progression feel a bit disjointed at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. You use some basic descriptors like 'great huge business' and 'healthiest ways', which are not ideal collocations. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'rappers' (likely meaning 'wrappers') and 'mitigate the value', where 'diminish' or 'erode' would be more appropriate. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, the range is limited, and the phrasing often sounds slightly unnatural or imprecise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'that caused by tourism' (missing auxiliary verb), 'benefits a country's economy' (subject-verb agreement), and 'causes also create' (redundant verb usage). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with sentence construction, such as the run-on structure in the second paragraph. To improve, focus on eliminating these recurring errors in basic grammar and subject-verb agreement, and aim for more varied, error-free complex sentences.

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

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