Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-15

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)

Nowadays, many tourists are going to places where the atmospheric conditions are very challenging, as in the Sahara desert or the Antarctic. Tourism or exploring new places are core of human learning through experiences. In this both, benefits and disadvantages are going to be mentioned.

First touring is very advantageous for individual in a way that it might help them explore about another culture, customs, and interacting with other countries people help them build their self confidence also they might become slight multilingual. In places where weather conditions are quite tough, like in Sahara desert and the Antarctic individual start learning how to survive in these kind of atmosphere where weather is at extremes. It help their body to adjust to the environment and do their chores easily. Also touring to such places you get to understand other habitat and see other specific places species too.

Secondly, touring is also highly challenging too it gives individual tough time too. Like in extreme weather conditions one cannot make it to work. They have to go through Health issues because of sudden changes in weather. For instance, in sandy or in snow they might get breathing issues and cold fever. They also need high financial income to make it to these places. One most important effect is psychological effect it might have bad impact on their mental health as well as physical health.

In my conclusion, I believe that touring various city is very thrilling and awesome but at the same time it has challenges too. Individuals should have precautions with them and assistance when visiting places with extreme atmosphere can cause less harm. to visit the sightseeing places is very beneficial for mental health changing your environment and surrounding sometimes relax and calm your mind seeing the beautiful views and naturalistic things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and give a clear general view that visiting extreme environments can be exciting but also risky. Relevant benefits include learning about other cultures, adapting to harsh conditions, and seeing unusual wildlife; disadvantages include health risks and high costs. However, several points are broad or not fully explained. For example, the claim that such travel helps visitors “build their self confidence” would be stronger with an explanation of how, while the discussion of psychological harm is asserted rather than supported. The final comments about sightseeing and relaxation also shift towards tourism generally rather than these difficult destinations. Develop fewer points with specific examples and keep the conclusion focused on the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, one on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Sequencing expressions such as “First” and “Secondly” help signal the two sides. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several ideas are placed together without clear links, and some transitions feel mechanical. The opening says both sides “are going to be mentioned,” rather than establishing a direct position. The conclusion also moves abruptly from precautions to the benefits of changing one’s surroundings. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each example explicitly to its main point, and make the conclusion summarise the specific advantages and risks discussed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “extreme weather conditions,” “survive,” “financial income,” and “mental health.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear. For instance, “atmosphere” is used where you mean climate or environment, and “other countries people” is an awkward way to refer to local people. “Cold fever” is also not a natural description of an illness. Aim for more precise collocations and avoid repeating general words such as “places,” “individual,” and “touring.” The suggestions below offer more natural alternatives.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “where” and “because,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in agreement, articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to read. For example, “Tourism or exploring new places are core” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “It help their body” needs a matching verb form. The long opening sentence of the benefits paragraph also lacks clear punctuation and grammatical structure. Practise building accurate sentences around one main idea, checking subject–verb agreement and articles, and separating run-on sentences. Greater accuracy in these basic patterns will make your ideas easier to follow.

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