Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-28
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)
Extreme weather-conditioned places like Sahara desert or Antarctic are the growing tourist spots nowadays. It has advantages like unusal experience as well as ability to survive. Additionally, it has drawbacks like danger to their life and deprivation from basic facilities.
To start with, the benefit of travelling to such places with severe weather conditions is to a lifetime experience. Travelling to common tourist places can be boring besides those areas being overly crowded. As Sahara and Antarctic have less people, one can experience its beauty and explore places with no rush. Additionally, these experiences will teach them to survive in bad weather when they dont have enough facilities. Due to such conditions, visitors might face difficulty and they will learn about how to live in such climate. This is a skill only few individual already possess.
In contrast to this, the major downside is danger to the visitor's life. In such places, it is hard to survive and this can cause danger to life which can eventually result into death. For instance, decreased availability of water can also serious problem to the people. Further, Snow gliding from the mountains can be the reason of death. Besides this, there are no better facilities they can have access to. It is hard to find a hospital, or a help centre at such places.
In conclusion, though travelling to places with bad weather condition can be advantageous like giving an individual a life-long experience and learning a skill of surving in extreme conditions, it can be life-threatening with no availability of basic facilities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address both sides of the question and maintain a clear overall position: remote destinations offer unusual experiences and survival learning, but also expose visitors to serious risks and limited services. The examples of water scarcity, falling snow and the lack of hospitals make the disadvantages relevant. However, some benefits are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the claim that visitors learn to survive in extreme weather would be stronger if you explained what practical skills or preparation they gain, and the idea that less-crowded places are more enjoyable could be linked more clearly to the tourist’s experience. Develop each main point with a specific explanation or example so that the discussion is more balanced and convincing.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates the contrast. Signposting such as “To start with,” “In contrast to this,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the progression. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some stronger control through clear paragraphing. However, several links are mechanical, and some references are unclear: “these experiences” and “such conditions” refer broadly to several preceding ideas. The sentence beginning “For instance” also introduces water scarcity without explaining its connection to the preceding danger claim. Use more precise referencing and connect examples explicitly to the point they support.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “severe weather conditions,” “overly crowded,” “availability of water,” and “life-threatening.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and there are attempts at less common expressions such as “deprivation from basic facilities.” However, the range and control are uneven, with noticeable spelling and word-choice or collocation problems: “unusal,” “Snow gliding,” “surving,” and “a lifetime experience” are not natural or accurate in context. Phrases such as “bad weather” and “better facilities” are also imprecise for this topic. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling; more precise terms would make the discussion clearer without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including a subordinate clause in “when they dont have enough facilities” and a contrast structure in “though travelling … can be advantageous.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in sentence construction and agreement. For example, “the benefit … is to a lifetime experience” has an incomplete or incorrect complement, while “this can cause danger to life which can eventually result into death” has an awkward relative-clause structure. In “decreased availability of water can also serious problem,” the verb is missing. Review articles, verb forms and sentence patterns, and punctuate clauses carefully. Greater accuracy in these areas would make your ideas easier to follow.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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