Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-12

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)

Tourism is one of the most important sectors of economy in almost all countries in the world. It contributes significantly to the annual gross production of a nation and this trend is increasing day by day. However, some of the tourist activities and overload can sometimes cause harm to local cultures and environment which is often ignored. I totally agree with this view. Here is a brief breakdown on my preference with relevant examples.

Many tourist litter the tourist spot. They throw wastes here and there, even into the water bodies. This can lead to severe contamination of water, soil and air of that particular place resulting in many issues for the permanent residents. For instance, water pollution can give rise to shortage of pure drinking water. But most of the times, authorities or tourist police ignore these activities. Again, sometimes they do not warn the tourist properly and sometimes even do not charge them for their faults.

Furthermore, to make the travelers feel comfortable, the local cultures are ignored sometimes. The local shop owners sell products according to the preferences of the tourists instead of their local products. For example, the shopkeepers may cell T-shirts and denims in the place of their local handmade clothes. Next, food sellers do not sell their local food, rather they provide the foods that are comfortable for the tourists to consume. These activities gradually but seriously can damage the local culture of the destination. It may also lead to the extinction of a particular culture.

To conclude, sometimes, authorities focus so much on the travelers' convenience that they forget about the local heritage and environment of that specific place. This practice not only disturbs the wildlife and nature there but also threatens the existence of the local culture.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by taking a clear position that tourism causes damage to local cultures and the environment, which is often ignored. The response presents relevant ideas, such as environmental contamination caused by littering and the erosion of local cultural practices like clothing and food traditions. While the ideas are adequately supported with explanations and examples, some points tend to over-generalise, such as claiming shopkeepers completely replace local goods with standard tourist items. The overall development fits well within the Band 6 or Band 7 criteria, as all parts of the task are addressed with a clear stance and supporting examples, though further depth in examples would elevate the score further. Band score: 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, two distinct body paragraphs focusing on environmental and cultural impacts respectively, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Furthermore', 'Next', and 'To conclude'. However, some cohesive links feel slightly mechanical, and referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, ensuring the overall arrangement remains coherent and easy to follow. Band score: 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'gross production', 'contamination', 'extinction', and 'heritage'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'Many tourist litter' (missing plural), 'throw wastes' (uncountable noun usage), and 'cell T-shirts' (spelling error for 'sell'). Less common lexical items are attempted with mixed success. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level where vocabulary control is sufficient but contains inaccuracies. Band score: 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout the text, such as 'shortage of pure drinking water' and 'sometimes even do not charge them for their faults'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but subject-verb agreement and article usage show frequent minor slips, such as 'Many tourist litter' and 'the tourist spot'. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument without severe difficulty. Band score: 6.0.

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