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)
In this era, several people started visiting places where condition are harsh such as the Sahara desert or the Antarctic. While these options provide both merits and falls. These passage will cover both advantage and disadvantage.
On the one hand, several people have pleasure while visiting these difficult tourist attractions. The Sahara desert or the Antarctic provide beautiful scenery with fresh air that make person feels amazing and healthy. Breathing in this air it is extremely healthy that it can even cure some disease without any use of medicines. Furthermore, In these tourist attractions you will find lot of peers with same mindset which you can bond with them, connect with them and make good friends that will alleviate your stress and burden because of work or study.
On the other hand, there are some disadvantages as well, when the people visit these places they unintentionally through garbages in the surroundings which pollutes the environment. As a result, over the period of time these waste produces foul gas which is not suitable for breathing. Moreover, sometimes these tourist places become life-threatening for the people because many individuals have lost their lives while doing adventure sports in these areas. For instance, my friend sarah got bitten by fish while swimming in the ocean and there after we have to call ambulance to save her life.
In my opinion, It is beneficial to visit these tourist places to explore the nature and make some good connections while being cautious not to pollute the environment and stayed alert while doing adventurous sports.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| 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 extreme locations. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the claim that breathing fresh air in the Sahara can 'cure some disease' is scientifically inaccurate and lacks logical support, which weakens the argument. While the prompt is addressed, the ideas are not fully extended or supported with convincing evidence. The personal anecdote about a friend being bitten by a fish is a bit tangential to the topic of extreme environments like the Sahara or Antarctica. To improve, focus on more realistic benefits, such as personal growth or scientific discovery, and provide more logical explanations for the disadvantages.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is a basic attempt at using cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Furthermore.' However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and some transitions are awkward, such as 'These passage will cover both advantage and disadvantage.' Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. The use of cohesive devices is sufficient to make the text readable, but it lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'merits and falls' (instead of 'pros and cons' or 'advantages and disadvantages') and 'through garbages' (instead of 'throw garbage'). The phrase 'lot of peers with same mindset' is informal and imprecise. While the student attempts to use topic-related vocabulary, the range is limited, and there are noticeable errors in word formation and collocation that occasionally hinder the natural flow of the writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('condition are harsh', 'waste produces'), article usage ('the Sahara desert'), and verb tense consistency. For example, 'there after we have to call ambulance' should be 'thereafter we had to call an ambulance.' These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable, though they do not completely impede communication. To reach a higher band, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common grammatical slips.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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