Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-15

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 growing very quickly in many countries. It brings money and creates jobs, but it can also harm local culture and the environment. I agree that these negative effects are often ignored.

First of all, tourism can cause environmental problems. A large number of tourists can produce a lot of waste and pollution. For example, visitors may leave plastic bottles and food waste in tourist places. Hotels and other buildings may also be constructed by cutting trees or damaging natural areas. This can harm animals and make the environment less attractive.

Secondly, tourism can have a negative effect on local culture. Tourists may not understand or respect local customs and traditions. Sometimes, local people change their traditional food, clothes or festivals to attract more visitors and earn money. Over time, some important traditions may become less popular among young people.

However, tourism also has several advantages. It provides jobs for local people and increases the income of businesses such as hotels, restaurants and shops. It can also help governments improve roads, transport and other public facilities. Therefore, tourism is important for economic growth.

In conclusion, I believe that the benefits of tourism are important, but its damage to the environment and local culture should not be ignored. Governments should make strict rules to control tourism and protect local areas and traditions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on the extent of agreement with the prompt. The introduction outlines both the economic benefits and the negative impacts on culture and the environment, which is then expanded in the body paragraphs. Environmental issues like waste and habitat destruction are illustrated, alongside cultural impacts such as changes to traditions. However, the response has a significant drawback regarding length, containing only 222 words, which falls below the mandatory 250-word minimum. This results in some ideas remaining under-developed and necessitates a penalty under Task Achievement. Despite this limitation, the arguments presented are directly relevant and coherent, maintaining a clear overall stance throughout the text.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a clear, logical organisation with a recognisable overall progression. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by distinct body paragraphs focusing on environmental damage, cultural impacts, and economic advantages respectively, and concluding with a summary. The student uses basic cohesive devices appropriately to signal transitions, such as 'First of all', 'Secondly', 'However', and 'In conclusion'. While referencing is generally clear and paragraphs serve distinct purposes, the cohesive devices are somewhat mechanical and the overall structure lacks the sophisticated flexibility found at higher band levels. Nevertheless, the essay is easy to follow and ideas flow in a structured manner.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'pollution', 'customs and traditions', 'economic growth', and 'public facilities'. There are attempts to use slightly less common phrases, and word choice is generally appropriate and communicative. Spelling and word formation are accurate throughout. However, the lexical range remains somewhat limited and relies frequently on common words and straightforward phrases like 'growing very quickly', 'a lot of waste', and 'make strict rules', rather than demonstrating the flexibility, precision, or sophisticated control of uncommon lexical items required for higher band scores. Communication is never impeded by lexical inadequacies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over basic structures and attempting some complex formulations such as 'Hotels and other buildings may also be constructed by cutting trees or damaging natural areas.' Punctuation and sentence boundaries are handled correctly throughout the text. The majority of simple sentences are completely error-free, and grammatical inaccuracies are very rare, allowing the reader to follow the arguments effortlessly. While the range of complex grammatical structures could be wider to achieve a higher band, the accuracy shown in the structures utilised is commendable and reflects a solid command of basic to intermediate English grammar.

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