Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-17
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)
Undoubtedly, it is vital to entertain ourselves, whether by reading a book or watching television shows, to unwind from the daily worries. Nowadays, it is common practice to watch or read crime-related content among people. The reason is that this genre makes people aware, and also binds people to predict more because of its suspense. In my point of view, if watched excessively it distract individuals from their important task.This essay will explain the reason behind its popularity along with my opinion.
There are several factors that make watchers and readers captivated. Firstly, majority of the content in novels and serials is based on real-life stories, resulting in making audience aware in advance how to handle the situation if something bad would happen. Recently, a teenage girl saved herself from getting rapped, when media asked how she managed herself to get escape. She replied, she watched crime patrol and similar incident happened in it, so by watching just a show a girl saced herself. Secondly, it is a good source of entertainment, because of its rich suspense.
In my opinion, sometimes it could have a negative impact on people's minds. There are chances that, whether by watching or reading criminal genre normal human start doing robbery, kidnapping, or even murder. It totally depends upon the prespective hoe people take anyting some leran from it, while others misuse the information for their own benefit. In addition, it might be a distraction because if one is captivated by a thing then they would not do the remaining work unless they finished reading or watching first.
In conclusion, although it is a good source of infotainment making one aware about the possibilities that might have negative consequences, and sharpen the cognitive ability by its suspense content as people try to think what would be happen next. However, the benefit could be turned into sin if the knowledge is used in an unethical way.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing the reasons for the popularity of crime novels and TV shows, and providing a personal opinion regarding their potential negative impacts. The position is generally clear throughout the essay. Ideas are supported with examples, such as the mention of a teenage girl saved by watching a show like 'crime patrol'. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or generalise experiences, and the phrasing can be repetitive at times. Nevertheless, the main prompts of the task are fully covered, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.5 or solid 6.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is divided into clear paragraphs with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and opinions respectively, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion' are used to structure the text, though some linking is occasionally mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently. However, referencing and logical progression occasionally falter, such as in the concluding sentence and awkward transitions between sentences like 'distract individuals from their important task.This essay will explain...', where spacing and punctuation errors disrupt the flow. Overall, it achieves a Band 6 level of coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, using words and phrases such as 'captivated', 'cognitive ability', 'infotainment', and 'suspense'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'rapped' instead of 'raped', 'saced' instead of 'saved', 'prespective' instead of 'perspective', 'hoe' instead of 'how', and 'anyting' instead of 'anything'. These lexical inaccuracies and typos occasionally detract from the reading experience, placing the lexical resource at a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional forms and relative clauses ('if watched excessively it distract individuals'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('it distract individuals', 'normal human start doing'), awkward phrasing ('how she managed herself to get escape'), and punctuation or spacing errors. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching a Band 6, placing it firmly at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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