Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-04

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)

In recent times, there are a variety of options for people in almost everthing. While some people have a habit of trying new things, others prefer to keep doing things they are familiar with to avoid any unforeseen circumstances. This essay will discuss both views and argue that trying new things and learning from one's own experience is a positive way of living a life which must be adopted.

Critics of this viewpoint contend that familiarity is the key to avoid any bad experience in life. When people are familiar with a particular thing, they will not have any anxiety of a potential mishap. They prefer to stick to tried and tested decisions to maintain their peace of mind. To illustrate, one my my friends would always order a particular dish at a restaurant. She was afraid that if she tried something new and it might not turn out good in taste, she will waste her money. The fear of an uneventful outcome holds them from trying new things in life.

Conversely, there are people who would always want to try new things in life and prefer to learn from their bad experiences rather than sticking to same old choices. This is a positive attitude that paves the way for experiential learning. To illustrate, I always like to visit different countries in my summer vacations. This allows me to learn the historical and cultural heritage of different countries. So, I firmly assert that trying new things in life is important to learn from both positive and a negative outcomes.

In conclusion, I reaffirm my conviction that although doing familiar things protects people from the anxiety of an uneventful outcome, the experience that comes from trying new things can never be matched. So, learning from both good and bad experiences is an extremely progressive attitude in life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the attitude of trying new things and the preference for familiarity, while clearly stating the writer's own opinion. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported, such as when the writer illustrates the fear of negative outcomes through a friend's dining habits and personalizes the benefits of novelty through travel experiences. However, there is a slight tendency to overgeneralise in certain statements, which places the response firmly within this performance level. To reach higher bands, the arguments could be developed with even greater depth and nuance, avoiding predictable generalisations about human behavior and offering more complex supporting evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, beginning with a clear introduction, moving through body paragraphs addressing each perspective, and ending with a cohesive conclusion. Cohesive devices are used flexibly to guide the reader, seen in transitional phrases such as "While some people", "Conversely", and "In conclusion". Paragraphing is managed effectively, and referencing is generally clear. To move towards higher bands, the writer could employ more sophisticated and less mechanical cohesive devices, ensuring that the transitions between sentences feel completely natural and unobtrusive rather than formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, allowing for some flexibility and precision with phrases like "unforeseen circumstances", "experiential learning", and "progressive attitude". There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some minor word-choice and collocation issues appear, such as writing "in almost everthing" and "turn out good in taste" instead of "turn out well" or "taste good". Spelling and word-choice errors are present, including "everthing" and the repetitive use of "uneventful outcome" where "undesirable outcome" or "negative experience" would be more precise. These minor lexical slips do not impede communication, capturing the characteristics of this lexical band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a workable mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses like "While some people have a habit of trying new things..." and "...the experience that comes from trying new things can never be matched." Good control of punctuation and sentence boundaries is evident. There are some grammar errors, such as article omissions and prepositions within patterns, including "key to avoid" instead of "key to avoiding" and "one my my friends" (which is also a slight typo). These errors persist but rarely impede communication, and the presence of error-free complex structures supports this solid intermediate grammatical level. To improve further, the writer should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine prepositional control.

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