Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-21

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)

ADVANTAGES: Budget friendly, less crowded, more nature

DISADVANTAGE: locals may be unwelcoming - stare foreigners, language barrier, scams to earn more money

Places with difficult conditions for example, the Sahara Desert and Antarctics are having a greater influx of tourists. It seems exciting to see and document areas that are mostly unexplored due to being difficult. On the other hand, the hassle involved in meeting basic comforts during the stay makes it unreasonable to invest time and money to travel to such places.

While visiting such places the tourists generally take it up as a challenge to show that they have managed to travel there and how uniquely beautiful the particular place is. However, the travellors ofthen feel alienated as they struggle to meet the basics which are very distinct and harsh. For instance, in desserts the wheather is very dry and hot. For someone who is new, they might not have the toolkit to survive in such drastic conditions and would struggle to achieve even basic comforts like, food, camping tents with proper sanitation and protection from insects and snakes. Making the trip exhausting rather than an enjoyable experience.

On the flip side, I think there is a solid reason to why a destination becomes popular for foreigners to visit. They feel welcomed, easy to communicate with locals and do not struggle to acess basic necessities. The itinerary can be planned in advance and nothing unexpected could happen. The costs although might be higher but a whole family can travel together, explore different cultures and cusines. Therefore, feel refreshed when they travel back.

To summarise, travlling to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing benefits and disadvantages, but the development is uneven. The introduction and body paragraphs touch upon the challenges of extreme tourism, but the third paragraph shifts focus to general tourism rather than the specific 'difficult conditions' mentioned in the prompt. This leads to a lack of focus on the core topic. Furthermore, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly with 'To summarise, travlling to', which prevents a proper conclusion. While the ideas are relevant, they are not fully extended or supported due to the lack of a conclusion and the shift in focus in the third paragraph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay uses some cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'However', and 'For instance', which help to link ideas. However, the logical progression is disrupted by the abrupt ending and the shift in topic in the third paragraph. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is incomplete, which significantly impacts the overall structure and flow. The referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a concluding summary makes the essay feel unfinished and disjointed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. There are several spelling errors, such as 'travellors', 'ofthen', 'desserts' (instead of deserts), 'wheather', 'acess', and 'travlling'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'influx', 'alienated', and 'itinerary', the overall lexical control is limited, and the repetition of basic structures and word choices prevents a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'Antarctics are having' (subject-verb agreement/article usage), 'reason to why' (preposition error), and 'costs although might be higher' (word order). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage in lists and after introductory phrases. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and spelling indicates a lack of control over complex structures.

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

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