Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-28

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)

Tourism is common all over the world, even in small countries as well. Tourism can either be beneficial or it can be devastated. However, in my opinion, tourism should increase one's country's value. I will also talk about its importance and its advantages and disadvantages too. Moreover, the country's development will also be analyzed.

When a certain country focuses on tourism, they suddenly concentrate on its development and growth as well, meaning, indirectly, the country will improve on its own. Modernizing your country's facilities and systematic technology and a good environment will hold a significant importance for tourism. The country will also look for new features and modify industries for goods which will result in an increase in the economy.

I will talk about some advantages as well. Firstly, when there is an increase in tourism, investment and business will surely rise too, which will not only help a country but its reputation will be good too in the global districts. Secondly, when money comes, the economy will increase on its own and more countries will look forward to having international relations with an individual country and, finally, the country will be established as a recognizable and a friend, so instead of war, peace will be ensured.

Some disadvantages are also met like initial costs, so countries which are on a low budget or have taken loans with others will have a poor image on tourism.

Speaking of tourists, they are very vital due to their importance as they travel and observe and seek different countries' cultural and traditions. How a certain number of nations live their lives and how people communicate with each other. Furthermore, how they speak with each other and their patience and tolerance and their ideology can be recognized. One country's religion plays a vital role for the tourist. The main point is that how other people greet them and their manner and behavior can also be acknowledged. Tourism basically also demands moral values.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but lacks a clear, consistent position. While the introduction mentions the importance of tourism, the body paragraphs drift into general advantages and disadvantages without directly engaging with the core issue of cultural and environmental damage mentioned in the prompt. The discussion of 'cultural and traditions' in the final paragraph is somewhat tangential and does not effectively argue the extent to which the damage is ignored. Ideas are presented but remain largely underdeveloped, lacking specific examples or a cohesive argument to support the writer's stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is often disjointed. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Furthermore'), they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately. The transition between the discussion of economic benefits and the final paragraph about tourists' observations is abrupt, making the overall flow feel fragmented. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the logical connection between the paragraphs is weak, which hinders the reader's ability to follow the argument smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices or collocations, such as 'global districts' instead of 'global markets' or 'devastated' used as an adjective for tourism. The repetition of basic words like 'country' and 'important' limits the sophistication of the writing. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of varied and precise vocabulary prevents the essay from demonstrating a higher level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'tourism... contribute a great deal'), incorrect word forms (e.g., 'devastated' instead of 'devastating'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'countries which are on a low budget... will have a poor image on tourism'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive or unnatural, which limits the overall effectiveness of the communication.

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

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