Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-18

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)

In todays fast paced world, people hardly spare time on reading newspapers or watching news channels. Hence, news accompanied by pictures are more interactive to the readers or viewers.

Individuals can easily relate to the topic if there are visuals along side. Pictures make it easy to navigate. In present times, the media quality has achieved tremendous heights, that one can get an exact picture of what might have had happened. A glimpse on the pictures, sometimes becomes enough to get a gist of the news. This ultimately, saves a lot of time. As per latest journal article, Times Now has comparatively higher number of subscribers, as it is more graphic oriented. Also, in the job market, the demand for graphic designers has surged, as people prefer visibility. It is a great proverb that can be associated here- out of sight, out of mind. Youth, today are constantly on their smartphones getting news from the social media, which is highly photo-oriented. This helps gain more audience and ultimately higher reach.

Conversely, adding more visuals occupy more space in the newspaper or it becomes time consuming for viewers to get a brief regarding the news. It also contributes to higher paper waste or increased digital media. Apart from that, news accompanied by pictures involves comparatively higher costs, which might not be affordable to many media houses.

I strongly opine that visuals do make a better impact, in terms of reach, visibilty and understanding. However, it is important that they are used wisely.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you believe pictures generally have a stronger impact, while acknowledging that they should be used wisely. You address both sides by discussing accessibility, audience reach and time-saving benefits, then noting space, waste and cost concerns. The examples about social-media use and graphic-design demand are relevant, but the claim about Times Now is not explained or supported enough to show how it proves pictures are more effective than words. Some points, such as the proverb and the costs to media houses, are introduced briefly rather than developed. To strengthen the response, explain what “effective” means—such as conveying facts accurately or attracting attention—and develop one or two examples in more depth, including a direct comparison with written reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall shape: it presents benefits, introduces drawbacks with “Conversely,” and ends with a clear opinion. Most ideas are grouped sensibly, and linking expressions such as “Hence,” “Also” and “Apart from that” help signal relationships. However, the first main paragraph contains many separate claims—time-saving, media quality, a proverb, employment and smartphone use—so the progression can feel like a list rather than a connected argument. Some links are also mechanical, and “This” in “This helps gain more audience” does not clearly identify which preceding idea it refers to. Group related points and use clearer references, while explaining how each example supports the central comparison between pictures and words.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic-related vocabulary, including “visuals,” “graphic-oriented,” “subscribers,” “paper waste” and “media houses.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “tremendous heights” and “out of sight, out of mind,” although some choices are imprecise or do not fit the argument naturally. For example, “more interactive” is not the clearest way to describe the effect of pictures, and “a glimpse on the pictures” uses an unsuitable collocation. Spelling and word-form slips such as “todays” and “visibilty” are noticeable but do not prevent understanding. Aim for more precise, natural phrasing and check spelling; this will make your argument sound more controlled and academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including the conditional structure “if there are visuals” and the contrast introduced by “However.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “news accompanied by pictures are” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “adding more visuals occupy more space” mismatches the subject and verb. The sentence beginning “In present times” also has an awkward clause structure after “heights,” and “what might have had happened” uses an incorrect verb form. Review agreement with singular or uncountable subjects, verb forms after modal verbs, and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these patterns would make the complex sentences clearer.

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.