Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-14

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 7.5)

Tourism has become one of the fastest-growing global industries, bringing significant financial benefits to nations worldwide. However, critics argue that the negative effects of this industry on local traditions and ecosystems are frequently overlooked. Personally, I completely agree that tourism causes serious damage to both culture and the environment.

First of all, the rapid growth of tourism poses a major threat to the environment. When a destination becomes popular, developers often destroy natural habitats to build hotels, roads, and restaurants. This leads to heavy pollution and a massive increase in waste. For example, many famous coastal areas have suffered from severe water pollution due to untreated sewage from tourist resorts, forcing local authorities to close them down. Furthermore, the carbon emissions from flights and local transportation contribute heavily to global climate change. Therefore, it is clear that mass tourism harms nature.Secondly, tourism can heavily damage the unique culture of local communities. When millions of visitors travel to a place, the local lifestyle often changes to satisfy tourist tastes, a process known as commercialization. Traditional customs, dances, and crafts can lose their true meaning and become mere entertainment products for sale. In addition, younger generations in tourist areas often adopt globalized habits and clothing, leaving their native languages and values behind. Consequently, the authentic identity of a community can slowly disappear over time.

In conclusion, while tourism provides undeniable economic growth, I strongly believe its hidden costs are too high. The industry regularly causes severe environmental destruction and wipes out local cultural traditions. Governments must manage tourism more carefully to protect our planet and heritage for the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear and well-developed position on the extent of agreement regarding the damage tourism causes. The introduction clearly states, 'Personally, I completely agree that tourism causes serious damage to both culture and the environment.' This stance is maintained consistently throughout the essay. Body paragraph one thoroughly examines environmental destruction, providing specific examples such as untreated sewage and coastal water pollution, alongside carbon emissions. Body paragraph two explores cultural degradation through concepts like commercialization and the loss of authentic traditions. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant explanations and examples, meeting the criteria for a high band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are structured cohesively, beginning with an introduction that presents the topic and position, followed by two distinct body paragraphs focusing on environmental and cultural impacts respectively, and concluding effectively. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all,' 'Furthermore,' 'In addition,' and 'Consequently' are used flexibly and appropriately to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph centering on a clear central topic. The progression of ideas is smooth and logical from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student uses a sufficient and generally flexible range of vocabulary suited to an academic discussion on tourism. Less common items such as 'commercialization,' 'authentic identity,' 'natural habitats,' and 'untreated sewage' are integrated successfully with good awareness of collocation and style. Word choice is mostly precise, although there is occasional reliance on standard academic vocabulary. Spelling and word formation are entirely accurate throughout the text, allowing communication to flow effortlessly. The lexical range is more than adequate to convey complex ideas clearly and naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response displays a good variety of complex structures alongside simple sentences, demonstrating solid control over grammar and punctuation. Examples of complex structures include 'When a destination becomes popular, developers often destroy natural habitats to build hotels, roads, and restaurants' and 'while tourism provides undeniable economic growth, I strongly believe its hidden costs are too high.' The majority of sentences are entirely error-free, with accurate use of dependent clauses, conditional structures, and participial phrases. Punctuation is managed well, and grammatical errors are virtually absent, indicating a high level of accuracy.

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