Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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 4.0)

It is often argued that few people like to try new things, for instance try different cuisines and food. While others prefer to keep doing things they like to do. This essay will discuss both the views followed by my opinon.

To begin with, some people like to explore or try something different in their daily life. There are seceral reasons for this. Firstly, try something new broader the person's viewpoint towards that particular thing.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response is heavily penalised because it falls significantly short of the 250-word minimum, containing only 75 words. Due to this severe length limitation, the student only partially addresses the prompt. While the introduction briefly touches upon both attitudes and states an intention to give a personal opinion, the main body paragraphs are abruptly cut off after presenting just a single underdeveloped point about exploring new things. The ideas are extremely limited and fail to discuss both attitudes in depth or provide the required reasoning and examples. To reach a higher band, the writer must fully develop their ideas across multiple well-constructed paragraphs and meet the minimum word count requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The essay displays some basic organization, featuring an introductory paragraph and the beginning of a first body paragraph with transitional markers such as "To begin with" and "Firstly". However, due to the premature ending of the text, there is no clear overall progression or conclusion. Cohesive devices are minimal and mechanical, and paragraphing is incomplete because the response stops writing mid-argument. To improve coherence and cohesion, the writer needs to logically sequence a full series of body paragraphs that build towards a clear conclusion, using a wider and more natural range of cohesive ties to guide the reader through the arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, reflecting a basic range suitable for a lower band. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as writing "few people like to try new things" when the context implies 'some', and the incorrect verb form in "try different cuisines" instead of 'trying'. Additionally, there is a word form error in the second body paragraph where "try" is used instead of the gerund 'trying' or noun 'trying', and "broader" is used instead of the verb 'broaden'. To achieve a higher score, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire by using a wider variety of less common vocabulary and ensuring accurate word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response shows a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple frameworks. The attempt at a complex structure contains a noticeable agreement and form error: "try something new broader the person's viewpoint", where the verb is missing or incorrect and the adjective form is used instead of a verb. Frequent errors in basic grammar, word patterns, and verb forms are apparent, such as the infinitive/gerund confusion in "for instance try different cuisines". To progress to a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater mix of accurate simple and complex sentence structures with fewer basic grammatical errors.

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

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