Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-14

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

News stories on TV and in newspapers are very often accompanied by pictures.

Some people say that these pictures are more effective than words.

What is your opinion about this?

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

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In today's life, news stories on TV and newspaper are often accompanied by pictures, people from many country say that those photos are more effective to understand than words. In this essay, I will discuss my personal perspective regarding this matter.

To begin with, people who prefer looking photographs to interpret news are people who don't have a time to watch or read the full content of the news. These are the people who work for ten to fifteen hours a day. Their everyday lives are fully consumed by their responsibilities and didn't get the chance to read their morning newspapers or to watch and listen their evening news channels on TVs and radios. In addition, there are people who have difficulties to read their language, but have the ability to interpret things by imaginations.

Furthermore, language barrier can be a one factor on why some people are saying that photos are more effective than words. For instance, some americans who cannot understand Korean language are trying to read korean newspaper or to watch korean news channel because they are curious on a particular issue that is happening in Korea that might be an international problem. In that case, americans will only rely on photos that are included on the newspapers and news channels.

To sum it up, people who don't have a chance to read or watch news contents due to their responsibilities and people who have disabilities are only relying on photographs for them to be able to understand the main thought of the news. Also, people who are not familiar with particular language are doing the same practice.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a relevant response by explaining why some people may rely on pictures, especially when they are busy or cannot understand the language used in a report. The examples about workers and Americans trying to follow Korean news help illustrate these points. However, the task asks for your opinion on whether pictures are more effective than words, and your own position is not clearly stated or consistently developed. The introduction says you will discuss your perspective, but the essay mainly describes groups who use pictures; it does not directly compare the strengths and limitations of images and words. The conclusion repeats the reasons rather than giving a clear judgement. State your view explicitly and support it with a comparison, such as explaining that pictures attract attention but words provide context and detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. The ideas progress from time pressures to language barriers, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “To sum it up” make the structure easy to follow. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and the conclusion largely repeats the body rather than drawing the argument together. Some references are also unclear: “These are the people” follows a sentence about people who prefer photographs, so it is not immediately clear whether it refers to all picture-users or specifically busy workers. Improve progression by linking each example directly to your central opinion and using pronouns or transitions that make their references precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “language barrier,” “responsibilities,” “interpret,” and “particular issue,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts to express more specific concepts, such as people relying on photographs to understand news. However, several word choices and collocations are unnatural or imprecise, including “interpret things by imaginations,” “curious on a particular issue,” and “main thought of the news.” Repetition of “people,” “news,” and “photos” also limits flexibility. Choose more natural combinations and vary the vocabulary where possible—for example, “infer meaning from images,” “interested in a particular issue,” and “the main message of a report.” These changes would make your meaning more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “who,” “that,” and “because,” and most of the main ideas remain understandable. However, some errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction reduce accuracy. For example, “people from many country” needs a plural noun, while “didn't get the chance” does not agree with the present-tense subject “Their everyday lives.” The opening sentence also joins several complete ideas with commas, making its structure difficult to control. Review subject–verb agreement and article use, and divide long sentences into clearer units. For instance, present the opening context in two sentences, then state your opinion in a separate, grammatically complete sentence.

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