Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-22

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 6.0)

In recent decades, extreme tourists has gained significant popularity, with an increasing number of travelers choosing to visit a destination with harsh environmental conditions, such as the Sahara desert or the Antarctic continent. Although, traveling to these remote regions offers physical growth and unforgettable experiences, it also provides severe physical risks and financial burdens.

On the one hand, visiting harsh environment provides several advantages for travelers. The primary benefit is the opportunity to experience untouched, breathtaking natural environment that a very few people ever see. Exploring icebergs in Antarctica or witnessing the endless sand dunes of the Sahara desert allows individuals to discontinue from the modern urban stress and appreciate nature in its purest form. Furthermore, surviving challenging climate fosters personal resilience and self-confidence. Overcoming physical discomfort, such as freezing temperature or intense heat, gives travelers profound personal achievements.

Despite of these advantages, there are some notable disadvantages associated with travelers. The major drawback is the severe health and safety risks. In remote areas, weather conditions can change unexpectedly, leading to life threatening such as severe frostbite, heatstroke and dehydration. However, these places has lack of medical disfrastructural and emergency services, getting timely medication is extremely difficult. Another main disadvantage is the high financial cost. They require specialized equipments, expert local guides and expensive permits, making such trips are far beyond from an average tourists.

In conclusion, traveling to these places with extreme weather conditions offers invaluable personal rewards, such as unique memories and emotional strength. However, these benefits are counterbalanced with serious safety hazard, assist emergency difficulties and steep costs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt—benefits and disadvantages—by providing relevant examples like the Sahara and Antarctica. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are extended with logical reasoning. For example, you discuss personal resilience as a benefit and health risks as a drawback. To reach a higher band, ensure that the development of ideas is more balanced; the discussion on disadvantages is slightly more detailed than the benefits. Overall, the task is fully addressed, and the ideas are well-supported with relevant examples, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'Furthermore,' and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with cohesion, such as the awkward transition 'Despite of these advantages, there are some notable disadvantages associated with travelers.' Additionally, the referencing in the final paragraph ('assist emergency difficulties') is slightly unclear. While the progression is logical, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes a bit mechanical, which is characteristic of a Band 6.5 or 7.0 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'breathtaking,' 'resilience,' and 'counterbalanced.' However, there are several instances of inaccurate word choice and collocation errors, such as 'discontinue from the modern urban stress' (should be 'disconnect'), 'medical disfrastructural' (a non-existent word), and 'life threatening' used as a noun. These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations. The range is sufficient for the task, but the inaccuracies prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'extreme tourists has gained' (subject-verb agreement), 'Although, traveling...' (incorrect punctuation), and 'these places has lack of' (subject-verb agreement). Additionally, 'making such trips are far beyond' is grammatically incorrect. While these errors rarely impede the overall meaning, their frequency is noticeable throughout the text. Improving your control over subject-verb agreement and sentence punctuation would significantly enhance your score.

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

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