Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-08
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)
Although facilities of exploring the world has widen its horizon through numerous ways which includes social media and other channel, it has also made us think the drawbacks of overflow of the information that can cause harm. I believe that there are more disadvantages than the advantages in that matter. Anything with a boundary works in efficient manner than to use it limitlessly and regret it afterwards.
As a matter of fact, people now a days use mass media it in several ways such as to know about the culture, lifestyle and tradition of other countries and to learn new skills and language in order to be familiar and comfortable while others use it in a harmful way like hacking date of other people and misusing it blackmail them. For instance, One of my friend's phone was hacked by someone who was alegdly extort him by saying that he will make his personal data and picture viral and spread it on the internet. In return, he demand a handsome amount of money. Since my friend was helpless therefore, he had to give the cash and got his mobile back.
Based on my knowledge, Not everyone uses it in a positive and useful way. Most of them use them to exploit and harm others which is why, government should restrict the way individual use mass media. In contrary, people with good mindset utilize it in a productive way. For illustration, Students use it to get well connected with the people around the world and make sure to increase their knowledge. This will definitely benefit them in great ways.
In a nutshell, every innovation has its pros and cons. It actually depends on the person how and where he/she can use that facility in order to make the life better or to harm others.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
Your position is stated in the introduction: you believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. You also include relevant points about learning from other cultures and the risks of hacking, and the personal example gives one disadvantage some support. However, the response does not fully develop the comparison required by the question. The discussion focuses mainly on misuse of media, while the benefits of international travel and global media are only briefly mentioned, and the conclusion shifts to saying that outcomes depend on the individual rather than reaffirming why disadvantages outweigh advantages. Develop both sides and explain why one side is more significant, using specific supporting reasoning.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the ideas are generally understandable in sequence. Linking phrases such as “As a matter of fact,” “For instance,” and “In a nutshell” help signal stages of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear: “In contrary” does not accurately introduce the contrast, and the shift from the hacking example to government restrictions is not fully explained. The conclusion also does not clearly follow the stated position. Use transitions that express the precise relationship between ideas, and make each paragraph develop one main point before moving to the next.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You attempt topic-related vocabulary, including “mass media,” “culture,” “lifestyle,” “exploit,” and “productive,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “facilities of exploring the world has widen its horizon” and “hacking date” do not express the intended ideas naturally; “allegedly extort him” is also an awkward combination. Spelling errors such as “alegdly” and “demand” further reduce precision. Build a bank of accurate phrases for discussing global communication, privacy and cultural exchange, and check word forms and collocations when editing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt some complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “Although,” “which,” and “Since,” and you use a range of sentence openings. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction occur often enough to affect clarity. For example, “facilities … has widen” has agreement and verb-form problems, while “he demand” and “he will make … viral” need more accurate verb forms. The sentence beginning “Since my friend was helpless therefore” combines connectors awkwardly, and “people now a days use mass media it” has an unclear structure. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb.
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.