Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-28

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)

It is an increasing trend that, Nowadays, the ease of international travel and the spread of various kind 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, which have both merits and demerits.

Initially, mass media is in increasing mode all over the world, which significants lifestyle of others in social media. People are sharing their daily lifestyles, such as travelling, shopping and so on, which interact other people living far from them. For instance, people upload their every daily activities in social media platforms, such as snapchat, facebook, instagram and others, where other people know their daily activities. The benefit of this trend is that some people can earn money through social media, sharing their lifestyle publicly. They got daily views, attentions, reactions, which assist them to be popular accross the world. Also, daily influencing also relax mind, where people got multiple contents.

On the other hand, there are other indispensable arguments, which are incumbent to be discussed. First of all, people got different threats through media, while they are sharing their lifestyle. It is not worth to share your life privacy to others. Multiple cyber attacks, thefts are also increasing rapidly, which outweigh the advantages of mass media.

All the above-discussed assertions lead to the conclusion that although the trend have significant benefits, the drawbacks associated with the same cannot be glossed over. So, in my opinion, it would be wise enough to say that the trend has benefits only, if people uses it in the right way.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of international travel and mass media in exposing people to global lifestyles. The position is clear, stating that the trend has both merits and demerits and arguing that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages only if used correctly. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the paragraph on advantages focuses heavily on social media platforms like 'snapchat, facebook, instagram' and earning money, while the disadvantage section broadly mentions cyber attacks and privacy concerns without deep elaboration or concrete real-world evidence. This places the response comfortably at Band 6, as it addresses the prompt adequately but leaves some ideas under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion appropriately. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'Initially', 'On the other hand', and 'All the above-discussed assertions'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, phrases like 'the trend have significant benefits' and pronoun usage lack precision. Furthermore, the transition between sentences within the body paragraphs can feel disjointed, as seen in the sudden shift from earning money to 'daily influencing also relax mind'. These issues reflect the characteristics of a Band 6 performance, where logical organisation is present, but mechanical or inaccurate cohesion occasionally disrupts the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for the task, including phrases like 'indispensable arguments', 'cyber attacks', and 'globally popular'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as 'mass media is in increasing mode', 'significants lifestyle', 'got daily views', and 'share your life privacy'. Spelling is generally correct, but collocation issues and inappropriate word forms—such as using 'significants' as a verb or 'relax mind' without an article—prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the message to be communicated despite frequent slips, which aligns with Band 6 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like relative clauses ('people living far from them') and conditional forms ('if people uses it'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and preposition use. Examples include 'the trend have significant benefits', 'people uses it', and 'accross the world'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips are consistent throughout the essay. Because simple sentences are relatively accurate while attempts at complex structures frequently contain errors that require the reader to occasionally adjust, the writing fits the Band 5 profile for grammar.

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