Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-16
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Concern for the environment is growing rapidly and more and more people are choosing to be 'eco-tourists' - travelling in responsible, environmentally-friendly ways. As a result, the eco-tourism industry is expanding.
To what extent do you think this is a positive trend?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 6.5)
In recent years, there has been a shift towards sustainable travel, tourists are becoming thoughtful and careful with how they explore nature as they tour various places. Consequently, eco-tourism is growing. I strongly agree that this is a positive trend.
One significant reason is that it promotes environmental conservation. This ensures that habitats remain untouched, protecting the animals that live there. When tourists are careful with how they interact with nature, we ensure that no destruction happens. For instance, in Zanzibar, eco-tourism is encouraged especially when visiting the turtles. Guidelines like, feeding unauthorised food to the turtles, is not allowed. Most tourists follow this and as a result, the place is still hosting visitors and the turtles are unharmed.
Furthermore, being sensitive with the environment goes in hand with respectful with people's culture. This brings about mutual understanding among various countries and boosts cohesion. In this way, partnerships are formed within countries encoraging tourism. For example, South Africa has opened its doors to many countries in Africa, allowing them to visit without a visa. As a result, many of the citizens in the allowed countries are encouraged to visit, and this brings revenue to the economy.
In conclusion, responsible travelling and being conscious to the environment has led to an increase in the eco-tourism industry. In my view, this is largely beneficial as it can lead to growth of economies, collaboration among nations and also wildlife protection.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your position is clear from the introduction: you strongly agree that the growth of eco-tourism is positive, and the conclusion restates this view. You give relevant reasons, including wildlife protection and economic benefits, and support them with examples from Zanzibar and South Africa. However, the two points are not developed equally. The turtle example explains conservation, but the South African visa example is mainly about easier travel and revenue, so its connection to environmentally responsible tourism needs to be made clearer. The cultural-understanding point is also asserted rather than explained in detail. The response is 13 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop these ideas. Explain more directly how eco-tourism produces each claimed benefit and add specific supporting detail.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0
The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present reasons and examples, and a conclusion summarises your position. The progression from conservation to cultural and economic benefits is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. To make the organisation more effective, ensure each example directly supports the paragraph’s main point. In particular, the visa example shifts towards general tourism and could be linked more explicitly to eco-tourism. Some connections are also expressed mechanically, such as repeated use of “As a result” and “In this way.” Varying these links and clarifying references between claims and examples would make the cohesion more flexible.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range of topic-related vocabulary, including “sustainable travel,” “environmental conservation,” “habitats,” “mutual understanding,” and “wildlife protection.” These choices make your main ideas clear, and you attempt some less common expressions. However, several collocations and word choices are inaccurate or awkward, such as “being sensitive with the environment,” “goes in hand with respectful with people's culture,” and “the place is still hosting visitors.” There is also a spelling error in “encoraging.” These issues do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim to learn common word partnerships for environmental and cultural topics, and check spelling and phrasing during revision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “When tourists are careful with how they interact with nature” and “allowing them to visit without a visa.” Most sentences communicate your meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. The opening sentence joins two independent clauses with a comma: “there has been a shift …, tourists are becoming…”; use a full stop or a conjunction. Other examples include “Guidelines like, feeding …, is not allowed,” where the punctuation and agreement are faulty, and “being conscious to the environment has led,” where the subject and preposition pattern need correction. Review sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement, and prepositions, while continuing to use varied structures.
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