Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-22

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)

On one hand, people like exploring via travel and food, and on the other hand, some people like doing the same things. Both are justified in their own ways but I like trying new things. I can present my perspective on both aspects further in the essay.

In today's world, people are gravitating more towards travelling the world and gaining new experiences. Social media is the prime reason through which people are coming across new food cuisines and places. To exemplify, this summer our friends' group planned a trip to a countryside town closer to the lake where the Airbnbs have personal canoeing and a motorbike at locations and we found this on one of the social media platform. We also researched famous food locations to try in the area and visited main attractions as listed. We had a wonderful experience. I feel trying new things hs more to do with experience and memories and thats the reason why I like doing it.

On the contrary, a bunch of people prefer doing things they are familiar with, as they are more comfortable doing it. Additionally, for many of them it brings them a sense of peacefulness from their hectic and sometimes challenging life. To justify, my mother is a working woman and whenever she takes her vacation, her preference is either visiting the same place she likes or doing the activity that relaxes her, and that is something she looks up to more then anything.

To conclude, even though people find is more convenient to try similar things, I am more inclined towards wandering and exploring.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both attitudes and make your own preference clear: you favour exploring, while explaining that familiar activities can offer comfort and peace. The travel anecdote and your mother’s holiday routine are relevant examples, so the response meets the main requirements of the task. The discussion is not equally developed, however: the reasons for trying new things are linked to social media and memories, while the familiar-choice perspective is supported mainly by one personal example. The opening also promises to present your perspective but does not preview the reasons. To strengthen the response, explain more fully why people may value familiarity and connect each example explicitly to the broader attitude it illustrates; this would make the ideas more consistently extended.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two attitudes, and a conclusion that restates your preference. Transitions such as “On one hand,” “On the contrary,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the contrast. This organisation is effective, though some linking feels formulaic, and the progression within the first body paragraph could be clearer: the move from social media to the trip, then to the general point about memories, is understandable but not fully signposted. The opening’s “I can present my perspective … further in the essay” adds little to the argument. Use more precise links that show cause and result, and make references such as “this” or “it” clearly point to a specific idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including phrases such as “gaining new experiences,” “sense of peacefulness,” and “more inclined towards wandering and exploring.” These choices communicate your meaning, and the travel and food vocabulary is relevant. There are also some inaccurate or unnatural expressions that limit precision: “food cuisines” is redundant, “at locations” is unclear, and “closer to the lake” does not naturally describe the town’s location in this context. Spelling and informal forms such as “thats” and “hs” also need attention. Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling carefully; precise wording will make your examples sound more fluent and convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “even though people find …” and the reason clause “as they are more comfortable doing it.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are present. For example, “the reason why I like doing it” follows a long sentence that would be clearer if divided, and “whenever she takes her vacation, her preference is either visiting … or doing …” has an awkward structure. The sentence beginning “To exemplify” also contains several clauses that are difficult to manage cleanly. Practise building complex sentences with clear clause boundaries, and check parallel structures and punctuation so that longer examples remain easy to follow.

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