Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-25

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, being the fastest growing industry around the world, makes a large portion of the economies. Tourism has impacts on the economy, society and culture of a country at large. It depends upon the regional state of dynamics that how tourism influences the socio-economic state of affairs of that area. In my opinion, tourism does no noticable damage to culture; however, the environmental damage is significant to be considered.

Most of the developed countries are increasingly focusing on the potential of the tourism industry. In particular, Asian countries are taking potential measures to boost their income by encouraging tourism. For example, The Maldives is a famous tourist destination. The Maldives is earning a major portion of economy from tourism industry.

On the counter perspective, tourism is causing damage to local cultures.When visitors from all over the world gather at a certain tourist spot, the cultures of different nations amalgamate at a place. They somehow influence the local languages and traditions. In this way, the local cultures are negatively affected through the thriving visitor's number.

Moreover, it is also considered that tourism damages the environment. At a certain tourist place, where thousands of visitors come daily, they use a large number of edibles and refreshments. It creates a large number of trash items that has negative impacts on the environment of that area. It happened at Paris Olympics 2024, where the trash took months to be cleaned after the olympics were over.

In conclusion, Tourism industry has an immense potential to support an economy of the underdeveloped countries. However, it also creates some cultural and environmental concerns. If these areas are addressed by the relevant governments, this sector can help boost the economy at a rapid pace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the positive economic contributions of tourism and the negative impacts on culture and the environment. You present a clear position in the introduction, stating that tourism causes minimal cultural damage but significant environmental harm, and you attempt to support this throughout the essay. However, some ideas lack sufficient depth or are slightly contradictory. For example, in the third paragraph, you argue that tourism negatively affects local cultures through amalgamation, but your introduction stated that tourism does 'no noticeable damage to culture'. This internal contradiction limits how well your position is maintained and developed. To achieve a higher band score, ensure your thesis statement perfectly aligns with the body paragraphs and extend your arguments with more robust, specific examples rather than brief generalizations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a clear overall structure with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs addressing distinct points, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, logical progression is sometimes hindered by mechanical or repetitive cohesive devices. Phrases like 'On the counter perspective' and 'Moreover, it is also considered that' are used, but transitions between sentences can feel abrupt. For instance, the link between the general discussion of cultural amalgamation and the specific impact on languages is not smoothly developed. Additionally, referencing is occasionally vague, such as 'If these areas are addressed by the relevant governments', where 'these areas' could be interpreted confusingly given the preceding sentence. Improving the variety and seamless integration of cohesive devices will enhance the flow of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'amalgamate', 'socio-economic state of affairs', and 'potential measures'. However, there are notable instances of awkward word choice, collocation errors, and repetition. For instance, writing 'does no noticable damage' contains a spelling error ('noticable'), and phrases like 'earning a major portion of economy' and 'thriving visitor's number' are unnatural. Furthermore, the word 'potential' is overused in the second paragraph ('potential of the tourism industry', 'taking potential measures'). While you attempt less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in collocation prevent the lexical range from reaching a higher band. Focusing on precise word combinations and checking for spelling accuracy will improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional structures and relative clauses ('When visitors from all over the world gather at a certain tourist spot...'). You show good control over basic grammar, but there are several noticeable errors throughout the text. Examples include 'makes a large portion of the economies' (article/preposition issues), 'It depends upon the regional state of dynamics that how tourism influences' (faulty clause structure), 'does no noticable damage' (spelling), and 'that has negative impacts' (subject-verb agreement with 'items'). Despite these errors, communication is rarely impeded, and the majority of simple sentences are clear. To reach a Band 7, you need to increase the frequency of error-free complex sentences and refine your punctuation and phrasing.

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

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