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)

This essay discusses how international travel and the spread of various kinds of mass media around the world have made it easier for people to know how other people live in other countries.

First of all, the modern world is an era of globalization, and the Earth has become a global village; as a result, the globe is quite interconnected, and it has become easier for people to know about how other countries' people live, moreover, they learn new culture, their food habit; the culture has become homogeneous, there is hybridization of culture, futhermore,the widespread of mass media has opened people's eyes and given them a new point of view. They can compare their lifestyle with other nationalities and become conscious about their rights.

On the other hand, there are many disadvantages of this development. Sometimes local livelihoods can be hampered by international travellers, these tourists not always respect the culture of that specific society, their traditional culture is affected by the global culture. Businessmen build accommodation for tourists instead of those developments which can be impactful for that community.

From my perspective, the development of mass media and international travel has more disadvantages than advantages, as excessive level of tourism industry can be harmful for the local. For example, there is a place named Sajek which is hilly area in Bangladesh, before there used to live a tribal community called 'Lusai' , but they were outcast by hotel investors as this place gained more tourist attraction. There are example of this kind of incident all around the world, at the same time, mass media can play a negative role by making a situation more serious than it is.

To conclude, there are both advantages and disadvantages of the ease of international travel and the spread of mass media. It has not only made it possible for people to know how other people live in other countries but also it can hamper the localities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both the benefits and drawbacks and give a clear view that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The example of the Lusai community in Sajek supports your concern about tourism displacing local people, and you also mention cultural change and the media’s influence. However, the advantages are less fully explained: learning about other cultures and becoming more aware of rights are stated, but not illustrated or developed. The claim that mass media can make situations more serious is also unclear because no mechanism or example is provided. To strengthen the response, explain how the benefits compare with the harms and support each main point with a specific example or consequence. The 42 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages, a personal position with an example, and a conclusion. This gives the reader a general route through the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, especially in the first body paragraph, where several ideas are joined in a long chain with semicolons and commas. Linking phrases such as “First of all,” “moreover,” and “furthermore” are used, but the relationships between the points are not always clear. The conclusion largely repeats the introduction rather than drawing together the comparison. Use shorter, focused paragraphs and make each one develop a single main idea, with clear links between claim, explanation, and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “globalization,” “homogeneous,” “hybridization,” “livelihoods,” and “tourist attraction.” These choices show an attempt to discuss cultural and economic effects beyond basic terms, and the overall meaning is generally clear. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, however: “the widespread of mass media” would be more naturally expressed as “the spread of mass media,” while “hampered by international travellers” does not clearly convey the intended impact on local livelihoods. There are also spelling errors, including “futhermore,” and some repetition of “culture” and “development.” Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling; for example, specify whether tourism displaces residents, changes traditions, or puts pressure on local businesses.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including cause-and-effect structures and clauses introduced by “as” and “but.” The meaning is usually recoverable, but some errors in sentence construction and punctuation make parts difficult to follow. For instance, the first body paragraph joins several independent ideas in a long sentence, and “these tourists not always respect” is missing the auxiliary “do.” In “there are example of this kind of incident,” the plural noun requires “examples.” Article use and sentence boundaries also need attention in phrases such as “is hilly area” and the comma splice in “Sometimes local livelihoods can be hampered…, these tourists…”. Practise separating complete ideas into sentences and checking subject–verb forms, articles, and punctuation.

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