Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-18
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)
Nowadays, the entertainment indusrty is not confined to typical household dramas. The highlight section for all the time is crime stories in the forms of books, movies, dramas or series on netflix. Significantly, there are numerous reasons behind the popularity of this particular genre and I am quietly impressed by the growth of this content.
Human mind has a tendency to be a preacher of curosity. As a result, it search out for things which engage their mind to it maximum capacity. One such example is crime which overcome their carving for curosity by answering questions such as how the person compelled to do crime, how they accomplished it and the consequences one has to face. Another reason is being face-to-face with reality, people are more inclined towards fact-based stories whether they are love stories, comedy and criminal.
Firstly, it is influential source of awaring the public about the personality of criminals and their strategies by depicting all this in the form of story. Sometimes, the narrated stories are reality-based circumstances on victim's life. Secondly, this aids in widening the knowledge and clearing the facts on somone's untold life such as a book on famous singer Sidhu Mossewala asassinated by the gangsters in Punjab, makes it crystal clear that how worldwide success can welcome unknown enemies. Last but not least, it strengthens the various neurological aspects of human brain such as catching up on dual personalities, be consciously present around strangers and joining the clues left behind by the criminals.
In nutshell, the society would be more advantageous to be well acquainted by the knowledge of all criminals happening in their surroundings. The crime novels and crime dramas would act like a eye-opener for them which is indeed crucial, keeping in consideration a time going on.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring the reasons behind the popularity of crime novels and TV dramas, and providing a personal opinion regarding their value as an eye-opener and awareness tool. Ideas are introduced and supported with examples, such as the mention of Sidhu Moosewala, although some arguments tend to generalise or lack deeper elaboration. The position is clear throughout, aligning best with the Band 6 descriptors where all parts are addressed with relevant ideas, even though some aspects are slightly under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay presents a clear overall arrangement with logical paragraphing, separating the introduction, reasons for popularity, personal opinion/benefits, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In nutshell', though some referencing and transitional phrases are a bit mechanical or faulty, as seen with 'In nutshell' (missing the article 'a') and 'the society would be more advantageous'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but overall progression occasionally stumbles due to awkward phrasing. This matches the Band 6 descriptor for cohesion sometimes being faulty or mechanical.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for the topic, including terms like 'entertainment industry', 'neuro-logical aspects', and 'reality-based circumstances'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'indusrty', 'curosity', 'search out' (instead of searches out), 'carving' (instead of craving), 'awaring', and 'asassinated'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect recurrent inaccuracies in less common vocabulary, placing this response firmly in Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like relative clauses ('stories whether they are love stories...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the response, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Human mind has', 'it search out'), missing articles ('act like a eye-opener'), and prepositional errors ('compelled to do crime'). Although communication is generally maintained, the frequency of errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band, making Band 5 the most appropriate fit.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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