Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-12
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)
Increasing in crime is the most concerning issue in all parts of the world. In most of the nations, crime novels and crime TV serials are becoming most likely to watch. I agree this statement and the reasons behind this will be highlighted in the upcoming paragraphs.
To begin this, the people who think that this is good to watch these kind of movies or serials because through this we can get awareness, knowledge and understandings that how to tackle the situations. It is good to have these kind of movies. Moreover, the producers also can get benefits to make these kind of movies to gain views and money because the majority of people are likely to watch action movies and having thrill in movies so they did not get bore in the cinema.
On the other side, the individuals think that this is negative for safety because in nowdays, everyone is influenced by their actors, so they are watching them very deeply and doing the same thing in real so the crime rate is also getting high because they think that the actor has done this and he gained so much attention in real life. Therefore, they will also involve in the crime seen which directly affect their education, career and damaged their status in society.
In conclusion, watching crime movies is the good thing to getting awareness and having security in their places to be safe. But my opinion is that this is negative for youngsters that they do not have much knowledge and understanding to do, they simply think that their actor had done this so we also have to do.
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: reasons for popularity and a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is limited. The explanation for why these shows are popular is somewhat repetitive, focusing mainly on 'thrill' and 'money'. The opinion section is slightly contradictory; the conclusion suggests crime shows are good for awareness, but then pivots to a negative view regarding youngsters. To reach a higher band, you need to provide more nuanced arguments and clearer, more consistent support for your personal stance. The ideas are present but remain at a surface level, lacking the depth required for a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'To begin this' is not a standard transition, and 'On the other side' is used to introduce a counter-argument, which is acceptable but could be more sophisticated. There is some repetition of phrases like 'these kind of movies', which makes the flow feel a bit clunky. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the connections between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall readability.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely heavily on basic terms like 'good', 'bad', and 'movies'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'crime seen' (instead of 'crime scene') and 'getting high' (in reference to crime rates). While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is a lack of topic-specific terminology that would demonstrate a higher level of lexical control. Improving your range of synonyms and learning more precise collocations will significantly boost your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('Increasing in crime is the most concerning issue'), article usage, and awkward phrasing ('they did not get bore'). There are also punctuation and word-form errors, such as 'in nowdays' and 'they will also involve in the crime seen'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader and indicate a lack of control over more complex grammatical structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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