Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-07
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)
It is irrefutable that tourism is one of the fastest growing sector and plays an important role in economies around the globe . Therefore , it is generally considered that local cultures and environment is badly effected by tourism often ignored .
I agree with the given assertion that tourism is the most rapidly growing industries and has a very significant role towards economies in the whole world but the damage it gives to local cultures and the nature is totally ignored by everyone. The first and foremost reason is that, it promotes employment . Since lots of things are needed for tourism , it results in high opportunities for jobs . Certainly it contributes towards the gross domestic product .
In addition , with the help of tourism people can promote their culture and historical history worldwide . For instance , there are various museums which reflects the history and importance of that place. Undoubtedly, tourism increases the value of historical things .
On the contrary , some people who contradict my point of view might argue that although tourism is one of the fastest growing industry and it also promotes the economy around the world , it has some bad effect on the local cultures and upon the environment.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you state your position clearly in the introduction, the body paragraphs are underdeveloped. You mention the benefits of tourism (employment and cultural promotion) but fail to adequately address the second part of the prompt regarding the damage to local cultures and the environment. The conclusion is also incomplete, as it merely restates the opposing view without providing a final synthesis or summary of your argument. To improve, ensure you dedicate equal space to both sides of the argument and provide specific, well-explained examples for each point.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'In addition' and 'On the contrary' to link ideas, which provides a degree of logical flow. However, the paragraphing is inconsistent; the final paragraph is essentially a fragment that does not function as a proper conclusion. The progression of ideas is hindered by the lack of depth in the arguments. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'notwithstanding') and ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence followed by supporting details that lead to a logical conclusion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'fastest growing' and 'around the world'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'historical history' (which is redundant) and 'damage it gives' (should be 'damage it causes'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'socio-economic impact', 'cultural erosion', or 'environmental degradation', and ensure you use words in their correct collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'local cultures and environment is badly effected' contains a subject-verb agreement error ('are' instead of 'is') and a word choice error ('affected' instead of 'effected'). There are also punctuation issues, such as unnecessary spaces before commas. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and the correct usage of passive voice. Proofreading for minor slips in articles and pluralization will also help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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