Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-17

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 ease of international travel and the global reach of mass media have bridged cultural divides, making it possible for individuals worldwide to explore, understand, and even adopt ways of life from distant regions. This development has generated diverse perspectives, opportunities for cultural exchange, and has generally brought people closer together. While some argue that this phenomenon can erode local cultures or create unrealistic lifestyle expectations, I believe the advantages outweigh these disadvantages.

To begin with, nowaday lots of people have to travel international they have to visit various countries and they wants to feel different culture. As per my vantage travelling numbers of countries makes you more independent such as we can grab lots of knowledge about their culture, their retuals and coustoms. If people belong form the country which have not much development and not have enough infrastructure do they can just visit developed countries like; India, USA ,UAE due to that they can gain ideas who to improve their own life style as well as they can know what ethics they should build in their daily rouiten.

However, personally i believe their is wide range of disadvantages to travel internation. international exposure brings economic advantages. Tourism, for instance, provides income for countries by attracting foreign visitors, who contribute to the local economy. Media also plays a crucial role in influencing individuals' travel choices, promoting destinations that might otherwise be overlooked. This economic stimulation supports local businesses, creates jobs, and can boost investment in infrastructure and conservation projects.

In conclusion, advancements in media can enhance our understanding of various places, helping to mitigate risks associated with weather conditions, conflicts, and government stability. However, this same media can also detract from the genuine interest in certain locations and potentially harm the reputation of countries that receive negative reviews from content creators.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of international travel and mass media in helping people understand other cultures, and the writer clearly states a personal position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. In the body paragraphs, ideas are presented, such as the benefits of cultural exchange and economic stimulus from tourism. However, some arguments are slightly confused by abrupt shifts in focus; for instance, the second paragraph mentions developing nations visiting the USA or India, while the third paragraph awkwardly inserts a discussion of economic advantages under the guise of disadvantages ("personally i believe their is wide range of disadvantages to travel internation. international exposure brings economic advantages"). Overall, the task is addressed, but development lacks consistency and clarity in places, placing it firmly at a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is generally coherent with a clear overarching progression, starting with an introduction, moving through body paragraphs, and concluding with a summary. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division of ideas is sometimes messy, particularly in the body where economic advantages are discussed directly after stating disadvantages. Cohesive devices are used, but they are occasionally mechanical or misused, such as "As per my vantage" and repetitive sentence starters. Referencing can also be unclear, as seen in run-on sentences like "If people belong form the country which have not much development and not have enough infrastructure do they can just visit developed countries like..." These cohesion lapses and punctuation errors pull the score to a Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, using phrases such as "bridged cultural divides," "cultural exchange," "unrealistic lifestyle expectations," and "economic stimulation." However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies, inappropriate collocations, and spelling mistakes throughout the text, such as "nowaday" instead of nowadays, "retuals" instead of rituals, "coustoms" instead of customs, and "rouiten" instead of routine. Furthermore, phrasing like "travel internation" reveals issues with word forms. Because these errors occur frequently and occasionally impede smooth reading, yet the vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, run-on sentences, and issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage. Examples include "lots of people have to travel international they have to visit...", "do they can just visit developed countries", and "personally i believe their is wide range of disadvantages". Punctuation is also neglected in places, such as missing capitalisation and improper comma splices. While the meaning can generally be deciphered, the high frequency of errors across basic and complex sentences restricts the score to a Band 5.0.

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.