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)

Advancement in science and technology has enabled people to do things that were not possible a century ago. For example, travel is now more convenient due to inventions such as aircrafts, bulllet trains and cars. Internet has made it possible to connect with anyone, anywhere in the world without even stepping outside. People around the globe are connected more than ever by means of internet and social media. They can now easily connect with people from other nations and experience other cultures from all around the world, just through their phone screens.

The major benefits of this development includes understanding differences between nations, learning from other cultures and societies, having an open mind about opposing perspectives. A person who travels more internationally may have different mindset about other people as compared to someone who has never experienced other cultures. Getting to know other foreigners lifestyle enables a person to be more tolerant towards other people who may have different way of approaching certain things. For instance, the person who travels may be more keen to eat food from other cultures. However, a person who never travels may be more rigid in their choices.

There could be some disadvange to this development. Cultures can lose their uniqueness and richness if the people adapt to other cultures way too much. For example, ramen, a Korean meal, is a trending on social media. When a person from other country is influenced to eat the same thing that they see on social media, this can make them less appreciative of their cultural food.

Conclusively, mixing of cultures has its advantages and disadvantages,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both benefits and a possible drawback, and your examples about travel, food, and cultural influence are relevant to how people learn about life elsewhere. However, the task asks you to decide whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and your conclusion—“mixing of cultures has its advantages and disadvantages”—does not make that comparison or state a clear overall position. The benefits are listed, but points such as tolerance and learning from other societies are not developed with enough explanation or evidence. The disadvantage is also narrow: the ramen example does not clearly show how exposure to other cultures causes people to lose appreciation for their own. State your judgement directly and explain the effects of each main point more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a concluding sentence. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of the discussion. Within paragraphs, however, progression is limited: the benefits are presented as a list (“understanding differences,” “learning,” and “having an open mind”) rather than being organised around a developed central idea. Linking is also sometimes mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “For example” and “However.” The final sentence is too brief to bring the argument together or connect the two sides to a clear conclusion. Group related ideas, use references such as “this exposure” where appropriate, and make the conclusion summarise your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “tolerant,” “opposing perspectives,” “uniqueness,” and “appreciative.” These choices help communicate ideas about cultural exchange. However, some wording is imprecise or unnatural, which limits clarity: “other foreigners lifestyle” and “different way of approaching certain things” do not express the intended ideas smoothly. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “bulllet,” “disadvange,” and “a trending.” Some repetition of “people,” “cultures,” and “other” makes the expression less varied. Aim for accurate collocations and more precise terms, such as “foreign lifestyles” or “cultural traditions,” and proofread spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “someone who has never experienced other cultures” and the conditional structure beginning “if the people adapt.” Most of the meaning remains understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “The major benefits … includes” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “Internet has made it possible” needs an article in this context. “A person … may have different mindset” also needs an article, and “other cultures way” requires a possessive form. The final sentence ends with a comma rather than appropriate closing punctuation. Review these patterns and check each sentence for a complete, correctly punctuated structure.

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.