Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-11

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)

In this day and age, numerous travelers prefer to go to destinations that have harsh conditions, like the Sahara Desert or the Antarctic. While touring these places has many gains, such as experiencing the beauty of nature and learning about survival in hard zones, it has some losses as well, for example, not getting comfort zones to relax, and not ample help in case of emergency.

On the one hand, there are multiple advantages of visiting the isolated places. The key benefit is being able to see the distinguished place and its true beauty, and rare animals. Nowadays, all the facilities are available that provide you safe ride to these places. For instance, there are frequent ships to the Atlantic, which show you all the Atlantic areas with precautions and also with trained staff. Therefore, A person can enjoy the vacation without any worries. Additionally, it teaches a person about survival in these kinds of difficult places. They show the hardship people have to face when they live in difficult zones. Hence, visiting these places helps a person to experience the true natural beauty of the earth and the hard work of the population of these kinds of zones.

On the other hand, the disadvantages are also there. The biggest disadvantage is not getting relaxation while travelling, just like those holiday places. When an individual goes to these destinations, they have to suffer. Although the touring ships provide amenities, they can not chill out like they can in other vacation destinations. They have to compromise in terms of food and comfort. Furthermore, if a person has a medical emergency, they can only get primary treatment, but not the proper one. For example, if a person feels a heart attack, they only get basic treatment, or else they have to wait for another ship to fetch them to the hospital because there are no hospitals in these areas. Therefore, a person will receive only the basic necessary items and treatments during the tour to these zones.

In a nutshell, the population prefers to see places with conditions that are not easy to handle bring benefits like being able to admire the nature of diverse parts of the earth and the realization of survival methods utilized by people living in harsh conditions. It also offers losses such as discomfort of rest and food in the journey to these places, and not getting plenty of medical necessities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing both benefits and disadvantages. The position is clear throughout. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of natural beauty and survival education as benefits, and the lack of comfort and medical risks as disadvantages. However, some points are slightly under-developed; for instance, the explanation of 'survival' could be more specific regarding how a tourist actually learns these skills. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting example is fully explained to show a deeper connection to the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the benefits from the disadvantages. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Additionally', and 'In a nutshell' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there is occasional awkwardness in referencing, such as 'the population prefers to see places' in the conclusion, which is a bit vague. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'harsh conditions', 'amenities', and 'medical emergency'. However, there is a reliance on simpler phrasing and some repetitive word choices, such as 'difficult places' and 'zones'. There are also minor collocation issues, such as 'not getting comfort zones' and 'not ample help'. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and collocations to demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary and more natural expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation. For example, 'A person can enjoy' (capitalization error), 'the Atlantic' (when referring to the Antarctic), and 'if a person feels a heart attack' (should be 'suffers a heart attack'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and more precise preposition usage would be beneficial.

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

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