Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-05

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)

These days people like to try many adventure activities. For example, many individuals go to the Sahara desert or the Antarctic, where conditions are extremely challenging. Some tourists think that they can test themselves if they can survive or not in such conditions. Others, however, experience sickness due to high temperature. I will elaborate on benefits and drawbacks along with examples in the following paragraphs.

The reason why it is beneficial for people to visit the Sharaa desert or the Antarctic is that they can learn how to survive in bad weather. This is because they may face heat waves or dryness there. If they get an experience in such places, it might open many opportunities for them to explore similar tourist places such as India. For instance, although India's weather particularly in summer is always hot, Indians still perform their regular tasks such as farming, household responsibilities. As a result, visitors can boost their confidence after watching how they still work and they may survive in hard weather easily.

On the other hand, some people argue that some individuals cannot go to places where conditions are difficult because these cities' temperature might be harmful for them. It is mainly because they are sensitive and heat can affect them badly. For example, some people may face severe consequences such as skin cancer. If sickness gets worse, they may die. Therefore, it is advisable for people not to try these kind of adventure activities.

In conclusion, it seems that many people go in the Sahara desert or the Antarctic since they like to take risks, whereas for people it could be dangerous because they are too sensitive to heat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both benefits and disadvantages and maintain a relevant focus on tourists visiting harsh environments. The benefit paragraph suggests that visitors can learn to cope with difficult weather and gain confidence, while the disadvantage paragraph explains health risks. However, the benefits are not always clearly connected to tourists: the example about Indian residents doing everyday work does not show directly what visitors learn or how this helps them. The disadvantage discussion also focuses mainly on heat, although the Antarctic is extremely cold, and the claim about skin cancer needs clearer explanation. Develop each side with more directly relevant examples and explain the effects on tourists more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for benefits and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the other hand,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the main stages. Within paragraphs, however, some links feel mechanical or the reasoning is not fully explicit. For example, the move from learning to survive in harsh weather to India’s summer conditions does not clearly establish how a tourist benefits. The conclusion also repeats the contrast without bringing the main points together. Use clearer links between each claim and its supporting example, and make references such as “they” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to discuss the topic, including “challenging,” “survive,” “heat waves,” “sensitive,” and “severe consequences.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some topic-related language. However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “bad weather,” “these cities’ temperature,” and “try these kind of adventure activities.” “Sharaa” is also a misspelling of “Sahara,” and “go in the Sahara desert” is not the natural collocation. Aim for more precise terms for extreme environments and health risks, and check spelling and common word combinations. This would make the argument clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including conditional clauses (“If they get an experience…”) and reason clauses (“This is because…”). Most sentences remain understandable, and errors do not generally prevent the reader from following your meaning. Some grammatical choices are inaccurate, however: “if they can survive or not” would be more naturally formed as “whether they can survive,” and “these kind of adventure activities” needs plural agreement (“these kinds”). There are also awkward sentence constructions, particularly “visitors can boost their confidence after watching how they still work and they may survive.” Practise building clearer complex sentences and check agreement, clause structure, and punctuation.

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