Foreign visitors should pay more than local visitors for cultural and historical attractions. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Same questionCompare 5 different answers (Band 6–7)

Sample Response

1

It is sometimes seen that tourist attractions, including museums, important historical sites and prominent monuments, impose a higher fee for overseas travellersthe overseas travellers than the local people. I do not agree with this idea and believe that the charges should be exactly the same. From onea perspective, it might seem logical to charge foreign tourists more to enter a traditional and historical place as most of those monuments and establishments are state-owned and the government funds themthe government fund those from the tax they collect from the local residentsresidences. InFrom this regard, many feel that local residences are already paying a portion of the ticket money through the tax they pay to the government. However, this is a very narrow view and this arrangement makes visiting tourists dissatisfieddissatisfies the visiting tourists as many of them find it discriminatory. From a broader view, if more foreign travellers are encouraged to visit nationally important tourist attractions and important historical and cultural placesplace, this would bring more foreign tourists and this would ensure more revenueearning from the tourism sector. It would also helpFurthermore, it would help spread the national and cultural importance around the world. From this perspective, charging extra for entrance ticketscollecting some extra money from the entrance ticket is a shortsighted step. Furthermore, happy tourists encourage their immediate friends and family members to visit a country and some tourist attractions. If those tourists get the impression that they are being chargedchanged more money than the local people, they would psychologically feel unhappy and would share their dissatisfaction with others which would mean fewerless foreign tourists. Many shrinesshrine and monuments are maintained by the ticket money it collects and if the number of visiting travellers decreasesthe number of visiting travelers get decreased, it would be difficult for the authoritiesit would be tough for the authority to maintain those important places. From this perspective, having an equal entrance fee has a better impact. To conclude, from a broader perspective having the same ticket fee for both residents and foreign touristshaving the same ticket fee, both for the residence and foreign tourists, to allow entry toallow the entrance to any nationally and historically important place including museums, art exhibitions, parks and historical places is more beneficial and I completely agree that the fee should not be different.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response presents a clear and consistently maintained position, supporting equal fees with relevant points about fairness, tourism revenue, visitor satisfaction, and site maintenance. Its main weakness is presentation: the whole argument appears in one paragraph, repeated linking language reduces fluency, and several grammar and word-choice errors weaken precision. Prioritise clear paragraphing, then edit recurring tourism terms and sentence structures for greater accuracy.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TR

Task Response

7.0
Scoring rule

The essay clearly disagrees with charging foreign visitors more and develops relevant reasons about fairness, tourism revenue, reputation, and maintenance funding. The opposing view is acknowledged but could be explored more fully.

Next step

Give the pro-higher-fee argument a little more detail before explaining why equal fees are better overall.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

6.5
Scoring rule

The argument progresses logically, but the entire essay is one long paragraph and some linking phrases are repetitive, especially From this perspective.

Next step

Use separate paragraphs for introduction, opposing view, reasons for equal fees, and conclusion.

LR

Lexical Resource

7.0
Scoring rule

Vocabulary is generally good for tourism, cultural sites, discrimination, and economic benefit. Several word choices are inaccurate or repetitive, such as residences, changed more money, and less foreign tourists.

Next step

Use precise tourism vocabulary: residents, charged, fewer tourists, revenue, and visitor satisfaction.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

6.5
Scoring rule

Grammar is mostly understandable, but there are repeated errors with articles, agreement, noun forms, and passive structures.

Next step

Check plural nouns and passive verb forms in sentences about fees, tourists, and monuments.

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IELTS Writing Task 2

Foreign visitors should pay more than local visitors for cultural and historical attractions. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Your response

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