Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-12

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 6.5)

Nowadays, new stories on television and in newspapers are often accompanied by pictures. Some people believe that pictures are more effective than words. In my opinion, I agree with this statement because it is easier to understand and effective in saving time.

To commence with, I believe that pictures are effective because young children or the old people who cannot read can look at the images shown and understand what is the text saying. To explicate it, pictures help people understand news quickly. For example, a photograph of flood damage can help viewers understand the seriousness of a disaster. Therefore, pictures play an important role in effective understanding than time-consuming reading.

Furthermore, another important point is that pictures creates emotions and help people imagine what happened. In other words, by looking at the image we can easily understand without reading the whole news. Moreover, some people find reading difficult, for them images can be helpful for getting the information. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in a good stead, as far as augmenting their chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.

On the other hand, some people argue that words are equally important beacause words provide us details and the background infomation that the pictures cannot show. Although this may be true, I believe that pictures are the best way to help people understand irrespective of time.

In conclusion, while both pictures and words play an important role in presenting news, I believe that pictures can be more effective than words due to easy understanding and saving time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: you agree that pictures are more effective, mainly because they support quick understanding and save time. You address both sides by acknowledging that words provide detail and background, and the flood-damage example gives one relevant illustration. This meets the task well, but the reasons are not developed equally: the point about children and older people is broad, and the claim that images create emotions is not followed by a specific example or explanation of how this affects understanding. To strengthen the response, explain these points more precisely and show when pictures are more effective, while recognising situations where written detail is essential.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, two supporting paragraphs, a counterargument and a conclusion. The progression from quick understanding to emotional impact, followed by the opposing view, is easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “Furthermore,” “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” help signal this structure. However, some connections feel mechanical, and the reference “all these merits” leads into a general statement about “prosperity and excellence” that does not clearly connect to the discussion of news pictures. The second supporting paragraph also repeats the idea of understanding without reading the whole news. Use more precise links between each claim and its explanation, and ensure every sentence advances the paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “accompanied by pictures,” “seriousness of a disaster,” “background information” and “emotions.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “To explicate it” and “stand one in a good stead,” but these sound unnatural or do not fit the context, which limits precision. Some word choices and spelling errors are noticeable, including “new stories” for news stories, “beacause” and “infomation.” The repeated use of “effective,” “understand” and “pictures” also makes parts of the response less varied. Aim for natural, accurate collocations and choose vocabulary that directly expresses your point rather than using formal phrases for their own sake.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“people who cannot read”) and a concession beginning “Although this may be true.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “pictures creates emotions” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “understand what is the text saying” uses incorrect word order in an indirect question. In “the old people,” the article and phrasing are not well controlled, while “help people understand without reading” shifts from the plural “pictures” to “we” in the surrounding sentence. Work on agreement, indirect-question structure and consistent pronoun reference. Greater accuracy across these structures would make the argument smoother and more controlled.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.