Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-24

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 years visiting places with difficult conditions like Sahara desert or the antarctic has become increasingly commong. This development has several advantages altough it also has some disadvantages.

One significant advantage of visiting a place like Sahara desert is that it increase the tourism in the country that they are visiting which also helps their economic conditions. Another reason why the tourism has increased is due to the global currency exchange rates, which also plays a major role in the rise of tourism in those region. As for the Antarctic, the tourism has increased in that region due to the wildlife, as there are some species which are close to extinction.

However, this development has several disadvantages. One major drawback is that adapting the climate conditions of those regions is difficult. For example, visiting the antarctic region which, is known for its extreme cold weather. If a person who has never faced such conditions would be bound to face health issues. Another example I would like to add is when visiting the Sahara desert which covers several countries. During their visit to those regions, due to the current ecomonic conditions there have been several cases of tourists getting scammed, being kidnapped, and victim of several other crimes.

Although, the increase in tourism for places where conditions are difficult has helped in the region's economic conditions or made more people aware of the species which are close to extinction. I believe the disadvantages outweighs the advantages considering factors such as health and safety.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the benefits and disadvantages of visiting remote destinations like the Sahara or the Antarctic. A clear position is stated in the conclusion where the writer judges that disadvantages outweigh advantages. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the economic benefit is mentioned twice in the first body paragraph and revisited in the conclusion without substantial extension. Examples provided, such as the mention of endangered species or health risks in extreme cold, are relevant but lack specific depth. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6 by addressing all parts with relevant ideas, though some areas remain under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing advantages and disadvantages separately, and a concluding paragraph. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The transition 'Another reason why the tourism has increased is due to the global currency exchange rates' is somewhat repetitive and loosely connected. Referencing occasionally becomes unclear, such as 'the country that they are visiting which also helps their economic conditions', where pronoun reference is ambiguous. Cohesive devices are employed, but their usage lacks flexibility, placing this response firmly in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'endangered species', 'economic conditions', and 'extreme cold weather'. There are, however, noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'visiting places with difficult conditions like Sahara desert or the antarctic has become increasingly commong' (common) and 'adapting the climate conditions' instead of 'adapting to'. Spelling and morphological inaccuracies like 'altough' and 'ecomonic' occur. Despite these slips, meaning is generally clear throughout, aligning with the descriptors for Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'If a person who has never faced such conditions would be bound to face health issues' (which also contains a structural redundancy). Grammatical errors and awkward phrasing are present, including verb-agreement issues and missing prepositions like 'being kidnapped, and victim of several other crimes'. While punctuation is generally functional, errors in complex sentence construction can cause slight hesitation for the reader. Nevertheless, simple sentences are usually accurate, supporting a Band 6 score for grammar.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.