Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The ease of international travel and the spread of various kinds of mass media all over the world have made it more possible than ever for people to know how other people live in other countries.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. Write at least 250 words.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The facility of international travel and increase in size of different types of networks all over the earth have made it more possible than ever for individuals to know how other demographics spend life in other nations. In this essay, I will both advantages and disadvantages in the subsequent paragraph.

On the one hand the benefits to ease of travel from one continent to another. It assist people to discover about various cultures of the world and also to learn different languages spoken by citizens of other countries. To elaborate, if a youngster travel over the world it increase his knowledge. For instance, my uncle travel numerous nations around the world. As a result, he know many cultures and languages. Furthermore, mass media also enhances people ability to know about lifestyle of citizenry of other nations.

On the other hand the drawbacks of travel and internet are also has its own place. Firstly, it is very expensive. This is because in Asian nations such as Pakistan and India individuals are very poor, they even not earn their living. Secondly, the news on internet was always not authentic or fake sometimes. A prime example of this is that news channels such as Geo news and 92 news gave wrong headlines.

In conclusion, although the demerits such as expenses of flight tickets and accomodation has their own place but chance to learn different cultures and communication skills are far more than diverse effect. I personally contend that pros outweigh the cons.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear view in the conclusion: “pros outweigh the cons.” The benefits of cultural learning and the drawbacks of cost and unreliable news are relevant, but they are only briefly explained. For example, the uncle anecdote illustrates cultural exposure, yet the link to how international travel helps people understand life in other countries could be made more explicit. The point about media is also asserted rather than supported with a specific explanation or example. The response is 241 words, so it is 9 words below the required minimum; this limits the space available to develop your ideas. Extend each main point with clearer reasoning and relevant evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph presenting advantages, a paragraph presenting disadvantages, and a conclusion. “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt: the discussion moves from travel to language learning and then to mass media without fully connecting these points. The opening sentence of the advantages paragraph is also a fragment, which weakens the transition into the argument. Some links, such as “Firstly” and “Secondly,” organise points mechanically rather than showing how they relate. To strengthen cohesion, use complete topic sentences and explain the connection between each example and the main claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “international travel,” “cultures,” “authentic,” and “accommodation,” and you attempt more formal expressions such as “I personally contend.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise, which makes parts of the response harder to follow. “Other demographics spend life” is not a natural way to describe how people live, while “increase in size of different types of networks” does not clearly convey the spread of mass media. “Diverse effect” is also unclear in the conclusion. Spelling errors such as “accomodation” reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling; a smaller number of well-chosen expressions will communicate your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional example beginning “if a youngster…” and a contrastive conclusion beginning “although…”. However, grammatical errors are frequent, and some sentences are incomplete or difficult to process. For instance, “In this essay, I will both advantages and disadvantages” is missing a verb, and “On the one hand the benefits to ease of travel…” is a fragment. Verb forms and agreement also need attention: “It assist,” “a youngster travel,” and “he know” should use correctly inflected verbs. In “the drawbacks … are also has,” the verb construction is incorrect. Practise building complete clauses and checking subject–verb agreement, tense, and articles before adding more complex structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.