Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-14

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people like to try new things, for example, places to visit and types of food. Other people prefer to keep doing things they are familiar with.

Discuss both these attitudes and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

It has been noticed that some people like to experience different things in their life such as different cuisines and landscape. While another group of individuals prefers to stick with the things they are familiar and comfortable with. From my perspective, it is always better to try something new because it help us to gain unique experiences and expand your horizon.

To commence with, experiencing similar things repeatedly may not only leads to boredom but also to limited knowledge. Visiting same place every year for vacation and trying the same type of food can limit an individual's adaptability and sense of appreciation towards other cultures and their people. Meaning that, such people may develop a racist behavior regarding other communities, because they never get a chance to know about their culture and values. For instance, many individuals who migrate to diverse countries from isolated areas, may find it significantly difficult to adjust, in terms of food, language and values. This is because, they never traveled and experience such environment before in their life.

On the other hand, individuals who are always open to try out new experiences and cuisines may have broader perspective along with better understanding of others' culture, weather and moral values. Such individuals may have higher chances of success in both personal and professional aspects of life. As they stand out more in the crowd, by their knowledge, experiences and behavior. Likewise, traveling to different locations can help individuals to build multiple life skills such as problem-solving, critical-thinking and harmony.

To sum up, being rigid and avoiding new experiences can affect our behavior and limits knowledge.I personally believe that we should develop adaptive nature and this is only possible by trying and experiencing new activities. Doing so, individuals can enhance their knowledge and skills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both attitudes and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, though the development is somewhat uneven. For example, the argument that people who prefer familiarity might develop 'racist behavior' is a significant over-generalization and lacks logical support, which weakens the persuasiveness of the essay. While the position is consistent, the supporting arguments could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points and reiterates the writer's stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'On the other hand', and 'To sum up' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as the use of 'Meaning that,' at the start of a sentence, which is grammatically incomplete. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common items like 'adaptability', 'perspective', and 'critical-thinking'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'develop a racist behavior' (should be 'develop racist attitudes') and 'expand your horizon' (should be 'expand one's horizons'). These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight a need for more precise lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('may not only leads to' should be 'may not only lead to') and missing articles ('Visiting same place' should be 'Visiting the same place'). Additionally, there are punctuation errors, such as the lack of a space after the period in the final paragraph. While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of the intended meaning.

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

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