Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-07

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)

In this modern era, crime thriller movies or books are gaining more popularity on TV or other online platforms. In the forthcoming paragraphs, I have stated the reason behind their fame with suitable justification, and also I have shared my opinion at the end.

Taking into account, the first reason behind this situation is that nowadays people want change of storyline. Instead of common rom-com films or novels, they need such thriller experience of crime or murder mystery, providing an adrenile rush in humans while watching or reading the process of solving any case and the satisfactory feel of winning. After watching famous shows like Sharlock Homes, Lock and key, or CID people get the feeling of achievement.

Furthermore, compared to past, better storyline is another reason behind this popularity. Current movies or any novels contain precise detailing about both the characters of hero and villain, leaving a realistic experience for audience. Gumrah movie is one of the best example of this situation, explaining a murder story of a famous scientist, and the involvment of two twin brothers makes this story more fascinating.

I believe, excessive reading or watching of crime thriller will affect people's mental health, causing disorders like insomnia, mental stress or anxiety. For children under certain age groups, these films or novels should be prohibited, because instead of watching bright side, there are posibilities of learning negative actions from the story and doing unexpected things (like using knives to hurt someone) are high.

To conclude, people's change of interest and better writing skills together make these crime series more popular.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both questions: you explain the appeal through audiences’ desire for a change from familiar genres and through more detailed, realistic stories, then give a clear view that excessive exposure may harm mental health and that children should be protected. The examples of Sherlock Holmes and the twin brothers help make the reasons concrete. This meets the task well overall, but the two explanations are not equally developed: the claim about “better storyline” would benefit from explaining more specifically what makes crime plots compelling. Your opinion focuses mainly on possible harms and could be more balanced by stating whether you also see entertainment or intellectual value in the genre. The conclusion summarises popularity but does not restate your view.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs explaining popularity, a paragraph giving your opinion, and a conclusion. Sequencing expressions such as “Furthermore” and “To conclude” help readers follow the progression, and each main paragraph has a recognisable focus. Some linking is mechanical, however, and the opening phrase “Taking into account” does not connect smoothly to the sentence that follows. The introduction also announces that your opinion will appear “at the end,” although it is presented before the conclusion. To strengthen progression, use more natural transitions and make the relationship between each example and its main point explicit. The final paragraph could bring together both the reasons for popularity and your evaluation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “murder mystery,” “realistic experience,” “mental health,” and “anxiety.” These choices make the subject clear, and attempts at more specific language show some flexibility. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “adrenile rush,” “satisfactory feel of winning,” and “better writing skills.” There are also spelling errors in “Sharlock,” “involvment,” and “posibilities,” which reduce precision. Aim to learn vocabulary in natural combinations and check spelling carefully. For example, describe the excitement as an “adrenaline rush” and the appeal of solving a case as the “satisfaction of uncovering the truth.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including a contrast with “Instead of…” and a reason clause beginning “because.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors occur in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation. For instance, “Gumrah movie is one of the best example” needs an article before the title and a plural noun (“examples”), while “the involvment of two twin brothers makes this story” has an awkwardly formed noun phrase. The sentence beginning “For children under certain age groups” also has an unclear grammatical relationship between the prohibition and the reason that follows. Review article use, singular/plural agreement, and sentence boundaries, while continuing to practise complex structures.

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