Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-23
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)
Now days, many tourist are choosing to travel in a remote and challenging destination such as the Sahara desert and Antarctic. Such places offer unique and unforgettable experiences and give learning opportunities. It also involve significant risk and disadvantage.
Travelling to these destinations has several advantages. One of the major advantage of visiting such place is people get the opportunity of experience the nature's untouched form because it is not a normal tourist place. People like to watch the landscape and wildlife. For example, If visitors visit Antarctica can see penguins and enormous icebergs, while those travelling to the Sahara can experience sand and traditional desert cultures. Visitors can also take a break from day to day life. These type of trip may raise awareness of environmental issue including climate change.
However, there are also several disadvantage of traveling such destinations. Most important concern is safety. Basically, these places are not safe to travel because of extreme temperatures, unpredictable weather change and limited access of medical care. Sudden snowstorm in Antarctica and dry temperature in Sahara desert cause serious problem for tourists. In addition, visitors need special equipment and also need experience guide. Furthermore, Increased human activity can disturb wildlife, increase human waste and pollution.
In conclusion, visiting challenging destinations can provide unforgettable experiences and increase people's understanding of nature. Nevertheless, it can also harm environment and wildlife. Visiting these challenging places can be both enjoyable and educational. I believe that such tourism can be worthwhile by prepare carefully and follow strict environmental guidelines.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
You address both benefits and disadvantages and give a clear overall view: challenging tourism can be worthwhile if visitors prepare and follow environmental rules. Relevant examples, such as seeing penguins and icebergs or experiencing desert cultures, help illustrate the benefits, while safety risks and environmental damage cover the disadvantages. This meets the task well, and the response shows some of the development expected at a stronger level. However, several points remain general or are only briefly explained. For instance, you mention that trips raise awareness of climate change but do not explain how this awareness benefits tourists or conservation. Likewise, the need for equipment and guides is stated without showing how these reduce risks. Develop these links to make the discussion more fully supported.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0
The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your position. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “However,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion” help readers recognise shifts between ideas. This is a coherent and logically organised response. To make the connections more flexible and precise, reduce reliance on a list-like sequence of points and show how ideas relate to one another. For example, connect the mention of extreme weather directly to the need for specialist guides and equipment. Some references are also unclear, as in “These type of trip,” where the reader must infer the intended plural meaning. More precise referencing and varied transitions would strengthen cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “unpredictable weather,” “limited access of medical care,” “environmental issue,” and “traditional desert cultures.” These choices make the main ideas clear, and terms such as “icebergs” and “wildlife” suit the examples. There are also attempts at less common or more specific language, although some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward. For example, “experience the nature’s untouched form” and “dry temperature” do not express the intended ideas naturally; “experience nature in its untouched state” and “extreme heat” would be clearer. Spelling and word-form errors such as “Now days” and “advantage” where a plural is needed also limit precision. Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling carefully.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional example (“If visitors visit Antarctica…”) and a contrast introduced by “while.” Most sentences communicate their meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. Subject–verb agreement and number are inconsistent in phrases such as “many tourist are,” “One of the major advantage,” and “These type of trip.” Articles and sentence construction also need attention: “If visitors visit Antarctica can see…” is missing a subject in the main clause, and “by prepare carefully” uses the wrong verb form after “by.” These errors do not generally prevent understanding, but they reduce accuracy. Practise checking agreement, singular and plural forms, articles, and verb patterns, while retaining the range of sentence structures you already attempt.
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