Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-12

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)

Nowadays, 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. Yes, I believe that the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages. This essay will discuss the main benefits and drawbacks of this development.

To illustrate, I would prefer to say that international travel and vastness of mass media has served most the researchers and writers. Ago, they had to travel by ships or by foot to other countries to collect date, to write on other communities. They spent a lot of time and money on travelling. But as of now, they just open social media and get all type of information they want. Also, they can travel to other country just in a day. Furthermore, people were unaware of culture, rules and regulations of other countries. But right now, with the ease of international travel and because of broadened mass media, people learn good things from other cultures and adopt it. Like my younger brother now wears special Turkish apron after he saw them wearing in their dramas.

Besides that, there are also some disadvantages. Alongside the positive developments, young generation adopt some bad things like unethical dressing, exposure to pornography. For instance, one of my friend is greatly impressed by Euorpe culture. Now, he lives like them, his habits, activities are similar to them. He also adopts their bad things which is a matter of concern.

To sum up, there are some disadvantages along with the advantages of this development. From my perspective, advantages of this development surely outweigh the disadvantages. But all we should try to seek benefits of this development and try to ignore something unusual against our moral values.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you return to this view in the conclusion. You address both sides, giving benefits such as easier research and learning about other cultures, and drawbacks such as young people adopting behaviours you consider harmful. These are relevant ideas, but they are not developed equally. The research point is asserted rather than supported with a specific example, and the concern about cultural influence is illustrated mainly through one friend’s lifestyle without explaining its wider effects. The Turkish-apron example is concrete, though its connection to the overall benefits could be made clearer. To strengthen the response, explain why the benefits matter more and support each main point with fuller reasoning or evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “Furthermore,” “Besides that,” and “To sum up” helps readers follow the broad direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven. The advantages paragraph moves from researchers to cultural learning and then to your brother’s clothing, with limited explanation linking these examples. Some transitions, including “To illustrate,” do not clearly signal the point that follows, and repeated contrast markers such as “But” make the connections feel mechanical. The reference in “adopt it” is also not fully clear. Group related ideas more tightly and use transitions that show the precise relationship between claims and examples.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “international travel,” “mass media,” “culture,” and “moral values,” and you attempt less common expressions such as “unethical dressing.” This gives you enough range to discuss both benefits and risks. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning less precise: “vastness of mass media,” “served most the researchers,” and “collect date” are examples. There are also spelling errors, such as “Euorpe,” and imprecise phrases such as “all type of information.” Aim to learn common word partnerships and check spelling and word forms. More precise vocabulary would make your arguments sound clearer and more academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including contrast clauses with “But” and a relative clause in “which is a matter of concern.” The overall meaning is generally understandable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “international travel and … mass media has served” needs a plural verb, while “young generation adopt” needs an appropriate article or plural form and matching agreement. “Ago, they had to travel” is not a well-formed time expression, and “one of my friend” has a number error. Some long sentences also join several ideas without clear grammatical control. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and noun forms, and build complex sentences around one clearly expressed main idea.

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