Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-29
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)
It is observed that series and books relating to offence are becoming talk of the walk day by day. Although, it offers great knowledge on the ways to tackle the similar situation occurs in reality. However, it may give the idea to an individual on how to plan the crime. Therefore, I personally think that they provide real life experience to the audience and the way they portray the crime scene is commendable.
Crime dramas often give life time experience to the audience along with awareness. For example, watching a crime series provide a close insight to the scene and incidents created. Thus, after seeing movies like these gives the audience an idea to tackle such incidents if occur in real life.
Moreover, these movies serves an educational purpose. For instance, movies like criminology and severe crimes are shown to students for learning purposes such as from teaching basic fight techniques to creating awareness of crime.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 156 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the essay addresses both parts of the prompt—the popularity of crime dramas and the writer's opinion—the arguments are underdeveloped and repetitive. The points regarding educational value and real-life experience are mentioned but lack sufficient elaboration or specific examples to fully satisfy the task requirements. To improve, you must expand your arguments with more detailed explanations and concrete examples to reach the required length and provide a more comprehensive discussion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into short paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is limited due to the brevity of the text. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover' and 'For instance', but they are sometimes used mechanically. The logical flow is hindered by the lack of depth in the arguments. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas are linked more fluidly. Using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensuring that each point is fully explored before moving to the next will help improve the overall coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'talk of the walk' (likely intended to be 'talk of the town') and 'offence' used in a context where 'crime' or 'criminal activity' would be more appropriate. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic terms. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and idiomatic expressions correctly. Avoid informal phrases and ensure that your word choices are contextually accurate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. For example, 'the similar situation occurs' should be 'similar situations that occur', and 'movies serves' should be 'movies serve'. There are also issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the clarity of your writing. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.