Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-01

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)

Today, an increasing number of tourists are choosing to visit places where living and travelling conditions are challenging, such as the Sahara Desert and Antarctica. Although these destinations can provide unique experiences and personal benefits, they also involve several disadvantages.

One major benefit of visiting such places is that tourists can experience something completely different from their usual environment. exploring extreme landscapes can be exciting and memorable, and it may be also help people develop confidence and resilience. For example, travelling across the Sahara can allow visitors to experience desert life, observe unique wildlife and learn about the tradition of local communities. In addition, tourism can provide financial benefits to local people by creating employment in transportation, accommodation and guiding services.

However, travelling to remote and harsh environments also has significant drawbacks. The most obvious disadvantage is potential risk to tourists health and safety. Extremely high or low temperatures, dehydration and limited access to medical facilities can make these trips dangerous. Moreover, tourism can have a negative impact on fragile ecosystems. For instance, could disturb wildlife and contribute to pollution if tourism is not carefully controlled. These environments can take a very long time to recover from human activities.

In conclusion, visiting challenging destination can offer tourists unique experience, opportunities to learn and personal growth ,while also supporting local economies. Nevertheless, the risks to visitors and the potential damage to fragile environments mean that such tourism should be managed responsibly and sustainably. Overall, such tourism offers memorable experience but involves serious risks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying both benefits (personal growth, economic support) and disadvantages (health risks, environmental damage). The position is clear throughout the essay. Ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as the mention of the Sahara and the impact on fragile ecosystems. To reach a higher band, the development of ideas could be more extensive; for instance, the link between tourism and local economic benefits could be elaborated upon with more specific detail rather than just listing services. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'One major benefit', 'In addition', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader. Paragraphing is used appropriately. While the flow is generally good, some transitions could be more sophisticated to avoid a slightly mechanical feel. Overall, the structure is clear and supports the development of the argument well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and allows for some precision. The student uses topic-specific terms like 'fragile ecosystems', 'resilience', and 'challenging conditions'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'tourists health' (missing apostrophe) and 'visiting challenging destination' (missing article/pluralization). While the range is adequate, the essay would benefit from a wider variety of less common lexical items to demonstrate more sophisticated control. However, the meaning is always clear, and the vocabulary used is appropriate for the context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'it may be also help' (incorrect auxiliary usage), 'could disturb wildlife' (missing subject), and 'visiting challenging destination' (missing article). Punctuation errors, such as the space before the comma in 'personal growth ,while', also occur. Despite these errors, the meaning is never obscured, and the complexity of the sentences is sufficient for the task. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent use of articles.

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