Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-14
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)
Every place in this world is becoming a tourist place to visit. More and more tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult, such as the Sahara desert or the Antarctic. In this essay, I would not only discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this but also will provide reason before drawing a logical conclusion.
There are number of advantages of this segment. Firstly, visiting these place help people to know about the habitat of the people who live over there. They get to know about the living style of the people, the clothing, the food they eat, how they earn their livings. An other advantages for this segment is that people explore new places and gain more knowledge about those places. People find it more interesting to explore these type of places.
Despite having some advantages, disadvantages could not be neglected. Firstly, it is more dangerous to visit that places. People do not know about the temperature and climate changes of those places, which can create a problem, while visiting places like the Sahara desert or the Antarctic. An other disadvantage for this segment can be that availability of doctors is less in that place. If a person will have any kind of health issue, it would be difficult to find a doctor for treatment
In conclusion, although this segment have benefits and people find it more interesting to explore these type of places yet it have many drawbacks too, which makes it more difficult to visit those places and survive there.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both the benefits and disadvantages of visiting difficult environments. However, the development of ideas is limited. For instance, the point about 'habitat' is vague, as the Sahara and Antarctic are largely uninhabited, making the argument less relevant to the specific examples provided. The ideas are presented in a list-like fashion rather than being fully extended with specific examples or logical depth. To improve, you should provide concrete examples or more detailed explanations for each point to demonstrate a more thorough understanding of the topic.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Despite', and 'In conclusion' to signal transitions. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. Some sentences feel disconnected, and the use of referencing is occasionally repetitive (e.g., 'for this segment'). To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally into the next, rather than relying on simple list-based transitions.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'this segment' and 'these type of places', which limits the sophistication of your writing. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'earn their livings' instead of 'earn a living'. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to travel, extreme environments, and safety, and avoid repeating the same phrases throughout the essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('this segment have benefits', 'visiting these place') and article usage ('the availability of doctors is less in that place'). These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic agreement and pluralization errors, and try to incorporate more varied complex sentence structures with greater accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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