Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-10
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In many countries today, crime novels and TV crime dramas are becoming more and more popular. Why do you think these books and TV shows are popular? What is your opinion of crime fiction and TV crime dramas?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
In recent years, crime related content become an increasingly popular in modern society. This essay will answer both questions by discussing why crime dramas and crime novels are popular, and explain my opinion on crime fiction and TV crime dramas.
The first question to consider is why crime related content is liked by individuals.
I believe that nowadays people have less patience, and their mind and body wants to watch and read something that give them intellectual satisfaction. This is mainly because crime rates increasing day by day as individuals hear a news related to serious content they love to watch those on screen.
In other words, social media spreads illegal videos related to real life crimes in the every corner of world.
A good illustration of this can be seen in series UNDEKHI, this is real life story of singer who died in marriage due to illegal weapon shooting.
The second question relates to my opinion about crime fiction and TV crime dramas.
In my opinion, Movie directors started making content that creates a suspense so that more people can addict towards crime web series.
I think government and organizations should take legal actions to avoid this issue in future as these type of content making youngers more aggressive. As a result, friends killing their own friends due to jealousy of marks. Watching and reading about crimes and illegal weapons make them more prone to get addicted towards drugs. Web series works as a manipulation in young age if they addicted to watch crime movies. They can easily join gangster groups. That results in real crimes in daily life.
In conclusion, I believe that books and videos should be related to knowledge and study. Crime content should be avoided on social media and TV to make our youth powerful and discipled.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the popularity of crime content and your personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The explanation for why people enjoy crime content—linking it to 'intellectual satisfaction' and 'hearing news'—is not fully explored or logically connected. The opinion section is clearer, but the argument that crime dramas directly cause youth violence is a significant over-generalisation that lacks nuanced support. To improve, ensure that your reasons are logically linked to the prompt and provide more balanced, well-reasoned arguments rather than relying on extreme claims about the influence of media on youth behavior.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'The first question to consider' and 'The second question relates to' are used to signal transitions, but the internal flow within paragraphs is often disjointed. For example, the transition between the popularity of crime dramas and the specific example of the series 'UNDEKHI' is abrupt. Improving the use of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') would help create a smoother progression of ideas and improve the overall coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You rely on basic terms such as 'crime related content' and 'good illustration' repeatedly. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'addict towards' (should be 'addicted to') and 'manipulation in young age'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common or idiomatic language. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that collocations are used accurately in context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('crime related content become'), article usage ('a news', 'the every corner'), and awkward phrasing ('these type of content making youngers more aggressive'). While the meaning is usually understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with verb tenses and pluralisation, to ensure your sentences are error-free and more sophisticated.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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