Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-25

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 6.5)

Nowadays, people are more interested in visiting places where conditions are difficult for survival such as the Sahara desert or the Antarctica. In this essay, I will include benefits and drawbacks for tourists who visit such places with relevant examples.

One of the major advantages of visiting such places is one can learn how to survive in extreme conditions without food and water. For example, I used to watch one TV show called "man vs wild" on discovery channel. He always went to the places where conditions are extremely difficult to survive. He taught me lot of survival skills such as how to lit a fire with stones, what animals you can eat and can't eat. One thing that I found interesting was he taught us how to remove venom from snake and eat it because snakes are good source of protein. People can use theses skills and use it whenever they are in "Do or Die" situation.

However, it has some disadvantages as well. Some people found it very difficult to survive in these situation because of bad weather, lack of basic needs, and many more. For an instance, My dad's friend tried to climb Mount Everest few months ago. He told us that it's very hard to breath at top of the mountain. He was unconscious for some time because of lack oxygen. In this conditions people may die as well if they don't carry precautions.

In conclusion, although this topic has some disadvantages. I believe that, its advantages outweighs the drawbacks because this places helps people to understand that they can survive in any difficult situation if they have some basic survival skills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed both the benefits and disadvantages of visiting extreme environments. Your position is clear throughout the essay. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the discussion on survival skills is quite personal and relies heavily on a TV show example rather than broader societal or environmental implications. To reach a higher band, try to expand your arguments with more analytical depth. For instance, you could discuss the psychological benefits of overcoming challenges or the environmental impact of tourism in fragile ecosystems. The conclusion is a bit brief and could better synthesize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'One of the major advantages', 'However', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. While the progression is generally logical, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between the TV show example and the application of skills in a 'Do or Die' situation could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the use of 'this places' in the conclusion, which should be plural ('these places'). Overall, the structure is sufficient to follow your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'extreme conditions', 'survival skills', and 'precautions'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing or word choice errors, such as 'lit a fire' (should be 'light a fire'), 'good source of protein' (missing an article: 'a good source'), and 'in this conditions' (should be 'in these conditions'). To improve, focus on collocations and article usage. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on fairly common words; incorporating more precise academic synonyms would enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('its advantages outweighs' should be 'outweigh'), missing articles ('at top of the mountain' should be 'at the top'), and incorrect verb forms ('tried to climb... few months ago' is fine, but 'he taught us how to remove venom' is slightly unnatural). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some minor errors. These errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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