Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-22
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 this cutting edge era, crimes have been playing danger role among youth, which spreads negativity in generation. Focusing on this point, in many nations, related to crime: TV shows and books have been being emerged day by day. However, there are many reasons why it becomes popular and in end of the discussion, opinion will be provided in details.
First and foremost reason is surrounding environment of people. Nowadays, people are getting more influenced by surrounding lifestyles and creators are making contents related to communities tastes and people are getting more attached with different types of criminal stories and this plays an important role for being popular of crime related shows or books. Secondly, creators are making very suspicious as well as secret stories in drama. On according to this reason, individuals getting more interest into it. Lastly, every social media platforms are launching a content related to crimes, which influence more influencers in negative way. For instance, in one of the Asian counties, launch crime documentary, which influence negatively in teen angers and some percentage of people suicide by influenced negatively to that particular TV shows, afterwards, their government had taken an action on production company and put stay on it.
To be honest, my opinion is totally against with these kind of such contents: crime TV shows as well as books. Because, it impact negatively on individuals as it attracts very easily to anyone, whoever try to read or watch it. Also the production companies makes such kind of contacts, which can be easily understandable and attractive towards particular web series or novels. To be focused on this fatal issue, government should take an action towards such kind of productions or individuals, who makes contents regarding crime.
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 reasons provided—'surrounding environment' and 'suspicious stories'—are somewhat vague and lack depth. The example regarding the Asian country is relevant but lacks specific detail, making the argument feel underdeveloped. While a position is clear, the explanation of why the content is 'fatal' or 'negative' remains superficial. To improve, you should provide more concrete, logical links between the popularity of the genre and the psychological or social factors involved, rather than relying on general statements.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'On according to this reason' and 'To be focused on this fatal issue' are non-standard and disrupt the flow. While there is a logical progression from the reasons to the opinion, the transitions between sentences are sometimes abrupt. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between social media and the specific example of the documentary is not smoothly integrated. More variety in linking words would improve the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. There are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'crimes have been playing danger role', 'communities tastes', and 'teen angers' (likely meaning teenagers). The use of 'contacts' instead of 'content' is a significant error that affects clarity. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, the range is limited, and the phrasing often sounds unnatural. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical 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 throughout. Issues include incorrect verb tenses ('have been being emerged'), subject-verb agreement, and awkward phrasing ('my opinion is totally against with these kind of such contents'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction is often clunky, which occasionally impedes the reader's understanding. While the meaning is usually clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence structure and proofreading for basic tense consistency would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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