Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-23

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 6.5)

It is an undeniable fact that crime based genre is at paramount in today's contemporary world. In many nations, novels and television dramas that are based on crime is getting popularity at its peak. From my perspective, people are eager to know about the daily crime happening in cities and countries; I opine it is somehow effecting negative on people.

To begin with, criminal stories have a suspense and thrill that makes the audience to hold their seats. It not only allows their brain to predict a possible outcome, but it also releases the dopamine when a desired climax results at the end. Furthermore, it gives knowledge about similar criminal activities happening among cities and countries, and it teaches the possible precautions one should take. One of the reasons is that, people prefer to watch the stories based on reality rather than fictional.

However, we seldom give a thought to ponder over the other side of the story. People are getting smarter these days, by reading such novels and watching dramas, criminals are finding the ideas. For instance, a news report showed that a husband killed his wife and hide her body in his own house; during investigation he revealed that he got this idea by watching a crime thriller movie. Moreover, it could effect negative on some people because everyone's mindset is not same and some people can feel stressful or depressed after watching such genres. Last but not the least, such genre reveals that humanity has reached to a cliffhanger.

The seemingly inexorable debate about crime novels and television dramas can keep on going. Nevertheless, showing deep reverence for all the aspects and observing a finer nuance of the matter mentioned above, I espouse the notion of supporting the fact that people's preferred genre could be based on various perspectives; such as their interests, believes and background. But in the end, it is their responsibility that it should only be for entertainment purpose; they should not take it personally or follow the criminal footsteps. Rather people should take the learning and teach others too.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the popularity of crime fiction and the writer's personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the psychological thrill and the potential for negative influence. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The explanation of why people enjoy these shows is clear, but the argument regarding the negative impact is slightly repetitive and could be more nuanced. The position is clear throughout, although the conclusion is a bit wordy and slightly loses focus by introducing new, vague concepts like 'humanity has reached a cliffhanger'. Overall, the task is adequately addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'However', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly misused, such as 'Last but not the least' and the transition into the conclusion. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences are slightly disjointed. The paragraphing is appropriate, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the reasons for popularity to the potential dangers, and finally to a balanced conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. There are some attempts at more sophisticated language, such as 'inexorable', 'espouse', and 'nuance'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'crime based genre is at paramount', 'effecting negative on people' (should be 'having a negative effect'), and 'follow the criminal footsteps'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('novels and television dramas... is getting') and word form/usage ('it could effect negative'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some awkward phrasings that affect the flow. While the student attempts complex structures, they are not always error-free. The errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. To improve, the student should focus on basic grammatical accuracy and refining the use of complex sentence forms.

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