Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-07

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 ability to travel across border easily along with availability of different kinds of mass media throughout the world have made it possible for individuals to learn about the daily lifestyle of foreign peoples. Many people argue that it creates complications to preserve ones privacy while others say that it open a portal to connect with the unique cultures. In my personal opinion i would say that the advantages of this aminities outweighs the disadvantages.This essay will further evaluate my opinion along with reasonings on how the access to mass media helps peoples.

The one problem that arises while talking about accessibility of mass media particularly social media is always lack of personal privacy.This is true for the most part, as anyone can easily get their hands on the personal datas and pictures of others families at ease furthermore, it also creates a risk of getting hacked online. Likewise, the simplicity in internatinal travelling can make peoles feel insecure as anyone can travel and keep an eye upon others.

Despite the disadvantage, this facility opens several path leading towards an easy life, as people can now learn about the cultures and practices of foreign country more easily.Thanks to media giants like facebok and youtube intrested individuals can learn new things aboout the culture that they like.Likewise, the ease of international travel makes it possible for a person to personally experience the culture in that particular country.

In contrast, the advantages for the cross border travel and access to media makes it possible to overlook the disadvanatge of privacy it holds more justifiable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You state a clear overall view: “the advantages … outweigh the disadvantages,” and you address both privacy concerns and the cultural benefits of travel and media. These are relevant points, but the response only partly develops the comparison required by the question. The privacy paragraph gives examples such as personal data being accessed and people being watched, while the benefits paragraph mentions learning about cultures and experiencing them in person. However, neither point is explained in much depth, and the final paragraph asserts that the advantages are “more justifiable” without showing why they outweigh the risks. Develop each main idea with a specific example and make the comparison explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on disadvantages, a paragraph on advantages, and a concluding statement. This helps the reader follow the main direction of your argument. You also use linking expressions such as “Likewise,” “Despite the disadvantage,” and “In contrast.” However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “In contrast” introduces a conclusion that supports the same position rather than contrasting with the previous point, and the final paragraph is too brief to bring the argument together. The introduction also promises to discuss “reasonings” but does not clearly map out the essay. Use transitions that accurately show the relationship between ideas and build a fuller conclusion from the body paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “personal privacy,” “cultures and practices,” and “international travel,” and you attempt some less common expressions such as “preserve” and “personally experience.” However, the range is uneven, and several inaccurate word choices or spellings make parts less natural: “aminities” for “amenities,” “personal datas,” “internatinal,” and “facebok.” Some phrases are also awkward, such as “opens several path leading towards an easy life” and “learn about the daily lifestyle.” Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise wording—for example, “access to personal information” and “gain first-hand experience of another culture”—would make your ideas clearer and more appropriate for an academic essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast structure beginning “Despite the disadvantage” and a clause introduced by “as.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, plurals, and sentence construction occur across the response. For instance, “availability … have made” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “it open a portal” and “the advantages … outweighs” also show agreement errors. In “ones privacy,” the possessive form is incorrect, and the opening sentence would be clearer with more controlled parallel structure. Capitalisation and punctuation also need attention, particularly “i” and the missing space after the full stop before “This essay.” Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly matched verb.

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

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