Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Today more and more tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult, such as the Sahara desert or the Antarctic.

What are the benefits and disadvantages for tourists who visit such places?

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

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There is no doubt that travelling provides an inner peace to tourists and help them to know about new culture and region.In this modern era,most of the travellers like to visit to different locations where living conditions are worst.There are several pros and cons of it.

On the one hand, there are several advantages of it.The advantage is discovering wildlife or ecosystem.To explain it, living in too hot or cold regions , help individuals to gain new experience and they get a chance to explore the environment.For example,if you are travelling to Sahara dessert , you come to know about their living conditions and wild species that are not present in other regions.Therefore,it is a kind of different level of experience and these locations provides you a peace from

noisy environment.

On the other hand ,there are many disadvantages too.The major one is health issues.To describe it , living in that conditions require a lot of mental and physical fitness of individuals.Sometimes, person's body is not much strong to adapt themselves in sevre conditions and in the end, they get ill because of poor conditions.For instance , if someone is going to Antarctic and do not wear proper winter clothes and get ill and there are no chances to go hospital .In the end , you many diagonsed with fever or cold .

In conclusion, I conclude that there are advantages and disadvantages too . If anyone want to gain new experience can go these locations but with stronger mindset to prevent themselves from illness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view that visiting difficult environments can be worthwhile if tourists prepare for the risks. The examples of exploring wildlife in the Sahara and becoming ill in Antarctica are relevant. However, the benefits are mainly described as gaining experience and finding peace, while the disadvantages focus almost entirely on illness. These points need fuller explanation—for example, how tourism can broaden understanding of fragile ecosystems, or how isolation, accidents, and limited rescue services create risks. The conclusion repeats the main points rather than drawing them together. Developing a wider range of relevant consequences and supporting each with specific explanation would make the response more complete and convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main direction. Within paragraphs, however, progression is sometimes mechanical, with repeated frames such as “To explain it” and “For example.” Some links between ideas are abrupt: the benefit paragraph moves from wildlife to personal experience and then to peace from noise without explaining how these points connect. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as in “these locations provides you a peace.” Use a more varied range of linking expressions and make the relationship between each claim, explanation, and example explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “ecosystem,” “wild species,” “mental and physical fitness,” and “adapt.” However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning less natural. For instance, “living conditions are worst” is not an appropriate way to describe challenging destinations, and “Sahara dessert” confuses the spelling of “desert.” Phrases such as “a different level of experience” and “a peace from noisy environment” are also awkward or imprecise. Aim for more accurate collocations and a wider set of terms for environmental and travel risks, such as extreme temperatures, remote locations, and limited medical access. Proofreading spelling and word forms would improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional and explanatory structures, but control is inconsistent. Errors occur in agreement and verb forms: “travelling … help” should use a singular verb, and “these locations provides” has a plural subject with a singular verb. There are also problems with articles and sentence construction, as in “living in too hot or cold regions, help individuals,” and the example beginning “if someone is going to Antarctic and do not wear…” does not maintain a clear grammatical structure. Punctuation and spacing around commas and full stops are often inaccurate, making some sentences harder to read. Practise building accurate complex sentences, especially with “if” clauses, and check subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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.