Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-28

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 6.0)

There is an ongoing debate regarding whether broadcasted news showing on TV and newspapers are very often accompanied by images. Others argue that these pictures are more effective than words. Although lack of genuine image may be the reason some are against this, I completely agree with the opinion that live images give more insights to a story and emotional connection.

Admittedly, It is undeniable that news agencies share unrelated materials on the media. A situation whereby an unverified picture was posted on a newspaper totally unrelated to the action, which can result to media backlash. However, it is difficult for media houses to get live pictures, and would therefore prefer to get something closer for audience to relate with. For instance, if a plane crash happens, journalists will find it extremely difficult to get onsite photographs, and therefore check their catalog for something related to an aircraft incident they previously covered, to give audience more analysis to the current happenings. Thus, words should not just cover a full story, partly or fully related pictures is better.

Also, people can connect to editorial publications emotionally and with keen interest. When scandals involving celebrities happen, most individuals may forget the name, but when they have photographs of them displayed, it makes it easy for fans to recall. For example, when the break-up between Cardi-B a female rapper and Offset a male singer happened, some persons could not remember who either was, but after seeing the faces on the news, it struck them hard that it was their favorite couple. Therefore, people are emotionally connected to photographs.

In conclusion, I believe that photographs are more significant that words. While story-telling with caricatures can be bad, closely related high-definition pictures can be of sentimental value and produce depth to a editorials.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether pictures are more effective than words in news stories and clearly states a position in the introduction: 'I completely agree with the opinion that live images give more insights to a story and emotional connection.' Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the discussion of plane crashes and celebrity scandals involving Cardi-B and Offset. However, the opening sentence contains a slight misunderstanding of the prompt's premise, stating 'There is an ongoing debate regarding whether broadcasted news showing on TV and newspapers are very often accompanied by images' rather than addressing the effectiveness of the pictures themselves right away. Despite this minor confusion in the hook, the main body paragraphs clearly develop the central argument regarding emotional engagement and visual information. The position is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0; overall, the development is sufficient for a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, distinct body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. Ideas generally follow a logical progression, moving from the practical challenges of capturing breaking news to the emotional impact of visuals on readers. Cohesive devices such as 'Although', 'Admittedly', 'However', 'For instance', 'Also', and 'In conclusion' are used to signal transitions between ideas. However, paragraphing and referencing occasionally suffer from awkward mechanical links or slightly unclear ties, such as 'A situation whereby an unverified picture was posted on a newspaper totally unrelated to the action, which can result to media backlash,' which lacks a main verb and creates a sentence fragment. Progression is clear, but paragraph internal cohesion shows some roughness, placing this securely at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'ongoing debate', 'media backlash', 'high-definition pictures', and 'sentimental value'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text. For instance, the phrase 'live images give more insights to a story' would be more natural as 'provide greater insight into a story', and 'result to media backlash' should be 'result in media backlash'. Furthermore, 'depth to a editorials' contains a grammatical article error alongside a lexical mismatch. While communication is never impeded and the range is sufficient, these frequent minor inaccuracies limit the score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., 'if a plane crash happens, journalists will find...'). However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips present throughout the text. Examples include 'broadcasted news showing on TV and newspapers are' (subject-verb agreement error), 'Admittedly, It is undeniable' (unnecessary comma capitalization), 'a situation whereby... which can result' (fragment sentence lacking a main finite verb), and 'more significant that words' (preposition error for 'than'). These errors do not impede communication, but they occur with enough frequency to prevent the essay from reaching a Band 7.0, fitting the Band 6.0 descriptor well.

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