Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-08
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 5.0)
Nowadays, visiting those destinations that have harsh environment to survive is an increasingly common trend among tourists. This essay will elaborate on the positive and adverse consequences of this tendency.
There are various positive outcomes of exploring tourist sites that have hard climate. First and foremost, a major segment of the population has immense curiosity to learn how to survive in harsh conditions. When tourists visit these places, they often make videos and publish on the internet, this practices often become popular among the viewers. Hence, it is so beneficial for the community that people can learn about essential survival techniques at various places from their home, such as Amazone Rainforest, Sahara Desert, and Ilands.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which severely impacts the ability to develop ideas. While the essay introduces the topic and mentions positive outcomes, it fails to address the 'disadvantages' part of the prompt entirely. The ideas presented, such as the educational value of survival videos, are underdeveloped and lack sufficient supporting evidence or examples. Because the response is incomplete and fails to cover all parts of the task, it falls into the lower band range. To improve, you must ensure you address both sides of the argument (benefits and disadvantages) and expand your points with detailed explanations and relevant examples to meet the length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is organized into two paragraphs, but the development is cut short. There is an attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost' and 'Hence', which helps with the flow of the limited text. However, because the essay ends abruptly after only one point, the overall progression is not established. The referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a conclusion or a balanced structure makes the coherence feel incomplete. To improve, focus on planning a clear structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs (one for benefits, one for disadvantages), and a conclusion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision expected for higher bands. Phrases like 'harsh environment to survive' and 'hard climate' are somewhat repetitive and could be more sophisticated. There are also spelling errors, such as 'Amazone' and 'Ilands'. The range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of the ability to use less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'extreme environments', 'unforgiving conditions', or 'educational potential'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are noticeable grammatical errors that affect clarity. For example, 'this practices often become popular' contains a subject-verb agreement error, and 'from their home' should be 'from their homes'. Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure is somewhat repetitive. The range of grammatical structures is limited, and the errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and using a wider variety of complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, while ensuring they are grammatically accurate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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