Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-31

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)

The scope of entertainment has expanded a lot over the years and crime has taken a good place in the TV and reading world. People are showing an increased interest in these types of shows or books. These crime scenes are presented to bring a twist to the conventional entertainment sources. I believe their certain aspects needs to be taken care of while working on this them.

Initially, one reason behind the popularity of criminal amusement is the lack of topics to cover. Most of the books or shows have the similar kind of stuff and it starts feeling boring to the audience. So, in search of trying something distinct, crimes can be an out of the box solution. It normally brings different stories and ideas, which seem unexpected and catch everyone's interest. Furthermore, some people watch these for educational purposes. For example, a popular survey conducted in the UK revealed that people watching/reading crime are much more aware of their surroundings and continuously process the activities going on around them. Consequently, they are very hard to trick and are more conscious about dangers around them.

However, the offensive entertainment needs a smart and wise planning. To explain, an eye should be kept on the ethics while making the criminal programs. All the parts must be kept within the reasonable limits and no exceptions should be allowed as it can have a devastating impact on someone's mind. Moreover, the age limit to access this type of amusement is a must. So that it can reach the targeted audience only instead of being watched by the minors as it could lead to provoke criminal mentality in them.

Although offensive entertainment provides an extraordinary feel and present something different along with providing awareness about the misdeeds happening, the stories ought to be made very carefully and age restriction is needed to put in place to watch the shows or read the novels to make the most out of it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for popularity and your personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for novelty and the educational value of crime fiction. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For instance, the claim that crime shows make people 'hard to trick' is a broad generalization that lacks a nuanced explanation. While the position is clear, the arguments could be extended further to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points, maintaining a consistent stance throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Furthermore', 'Consequently', and 'However' are used to guide the reader through the argument. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The referencing is mostly clear, though the connection between the idea of 'offensive entertainment' and the previous paragraph could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'conventional', 'devastating', and 'misdeeds'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'criminal amusement' and 'offensive entertainment', which do not quite capture the intended meaning in this context. While these errors do not impede communication, they limit the precision required for a higher band score. A wider range of topic-specific vocabulary would enhance the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('their certain aspects needs to be taken care of') and awkward phrasing ('working on this them'). Punctuation is generally correct, but there are minor slips in sentence construction. While the errors are noticeable, they rarely impede the reader's understanding. To improve, the writer should focus on refining complex sentence structures and ensuring consistent subject-verb agreement throughout the text.

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