Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays, an increasing number of tourists are travelling to places with challenging conditions, such as the Sahara Desert and Antarctica. Although this type of tourism can provide several benefits, it also has some significant disadvantages.

One major benefit is that visiting remote and difficult places can provide people with unique and memorable experiences. Tourists can see unusual landscapes, observe wildlife and learn about environments that they would not normally encounter. In addition, tourism can bring economic benefits to remote areas. Local people can earn money by working as tour guides, drivers or hotel staff. Furthermore, visitors may become more aware of environmental problems, such as climate change, after seeing fragile ecosystems themselves.

However, there are also some drawbacks. The most serious concern is environmental damage. Large numbers of visitors can leave rubbish, disturb wildlife and damage natural habitats. Moreover, travelling to remote areas often involves flights, ships or special vehicles, which can increase carbon emissions. Another disadvantage is the danger to tourists themselves. Extreme temperatures, severe weather and limited medical facilities can lead to serious accidents or health problems.

In conclusion, visiting challenging destinations can offer valuable experiences and economic opportunities, but it can also harm the environment and put tourists at risk. Therefore, such tourism should be carefully controlled to reduce its negative effects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both the benefits and disadvantages of tourism in extreme environments. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the arguments. While the ideas are relevant, they are presented in a somewhat brief manner. To achieve a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed examples or personal insights. For instance, when discussing economic benefits, you could elaborate on how this impacts local infrastructure or cultural preservation. The position is clear, but the lack of development due to the word count constraint prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is well-structured with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is logical. You use cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Furthermore', 'However', and 'Moreover' effectively to link sentences and ideas. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall flow is smooth. To improve, ensure that the transition between the benefits and the drawbacks is slightly more nuanced to enhance the sophistication of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, such as 'challenging conditions', 'fragile ecosystems', and 'economic opportunities'. The word choice is generally accurate and natural. There are no significant spelling or collocation errors. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise or less common academic collocations. For example, instead of 'serious concern', you could use 'pressing concern' or 'paramount issue'. The current range is sufficient for the task but lacks the variety of sophisticated, less common lexical items required for a band 8.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The grammar is accurate, and you use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There are very few errors, and the punctuation is handled correctly. Examples like 'Although this type of tourism can provide several benefits, it also has some significant disadvantages' show good control over complex sentence construction. The writing is clear and easy to follow. To improve, you could experiment with a wider variety of complex structures, such as inversion or conditional sentences, to demonstrate greater grammatical flexibility.

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