Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-16
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)
The writer believes that books and documentaries based on crime scenes are becoming significantly popular. There are several reasons behind it. My essay is aiming throw light on a few of them and I will be providing my opinion in the end.
To embark on, government or different authorities want the people of their countries to be aware of distinct types of crime going on in the world nowadays. To be honest, it keeps the knowledge of people updated that how to keep themselves safe in the different type of situations. Significant increase in the crime rates is allowing criminals to use different methods to conduct an offence. On the other hand, a large number of human beings love to watch or read the crime based as well as thrilling stories that is why many writers write the books or movies related to it. This becomes a biggest reason for a particular story to become favourite among the world.
This has some drawbacks too. As some children get influenced by this stuff in a bad way which leads them to perform inappropriate sometimes very serious crime. If they keep watching or reading about crime then there are significant chances that they can become criminals in future. To state an example, there was a kid in colony when I used to live in India who was addicted to watch these. One day he hit a kid with sharp stick after a little argument.
In the conclusion, I would like to state that this is a good trend but should have some age and content limitations so the crime should not increase after experiencing them.
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 the writer's opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The explanation regarding government awareness is a bit tenuous, and the link between crime dramas and real-life criminal behavior is asserted rather than fully explored. While the position is clear, the arguments lack depth and specific supporting evidence beyond a brief personal anecdote. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your reasoning with more nuanced analysis, such as the psychological appeal of 'whodunnits' or the role of suspense in entertainment.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'To embark on' to start the first body paragraph. Referencing is occasionally unclear; for example, in the second paragraph, the phrase 'this stuff' is informal and lacks a precise antecedent. While the overall structure is coherent, the transition between ideas could be smoother to improve the flow of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'aiming throw light on' (should be 'aims to shed light on') and 'conduct an offence' (usually 'commit a crime'). The use of 'human beings' is slightly unnatural in this context, where 'people' or 'audiences' would be more appropriate. The range is sufficient to communicate the main points, but the lack of sophisticated or topic-specific vocabulary limits the score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'it keeps the knowledge of people updated that how to keep themselves safe' (awkward phrasing) and 'addicted to watch these' (should be 'addicted to watching these'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in article usage and verb forms. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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