Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-09

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 recent times, there has been a rising trend among people to read criminal stories and watch television dramas. This is mainly attributed to their growing interest in understanding the criminal behaviour and their personal likeness to read suspenseful stories. I believe that these criminal stories play an important role in raising awareness among people regarding the consequences of criminal conduct.

People nowadays are interested in crime stories, so they can learn criminal behaviour and its consequences. This helps them to stay cautious of criminals if they come across them in real life. To illustrate, CID was a very popular Indian crime series based on real-life stories, which was enjoyed by audience because people really liked its suspenseful genre. Furthermore, many people like to read thrilling and mysterious stories, as it stimulates their logical reasoning ability. For instance, Sherlock Holmes' detective novels are very popular among people who enjoy joining clues to identify criminals in stories.

In my opinion, crime novels and television dramas are an excellent way for raising awareness among people. This helps them to understand the undesirable consequences associated with criminal conduct, which ultimately prevents them from criminal acts. However, I think that writers and directors should act responsibly, and they should refrain from showing unnecessary violence in their stories which can negatively impact the young audience.

In conclusion, crime novels and television dramas have gained widespread popularity among people due to their suspenseful genre. In my opinion, crime stories prevent people from doing criminal acts, as they educate people regarding the potential consequences of such acts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both parts of the prompt: you explain popularity through interest in suspense and learning about crime, and you give a clear positive view while noting that creators should avoid unnecessary violence. The examples of CID and Sherlock Holmes make the reasons more concrete. This fits a response that covers the task, but some ideas are not developed equally. In particular, the claim that crime stories prevent viewers from committing crimes is asserted rather than explained or supported, and the point about learning criminal behaviour could be clarified as learning how crime occurs or how to recognise risks. Develop these links and qualify broad claims to make the response more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph explaining popularity, a paragraph giving your opinion, and a conclusion. Ideas generally progress logically, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. However, some connections are repetitive or slightly mechanical: the conclusion repeats the claim that crime stories prevent criminal acts, while “This helps them” appears in close succession without always making the reference precise. The first body paragraph also combines learning about crime with enjoyment of suspense, and could be organised more clearly around those two reasons. More varied transitions and clearer links between claims and examples would strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including “criminal conduct,” “suspenseful,” “logical reasoning ability,” and “undesirable consequences.” These choices communicate your ideas, and the examples show you can use vocabulary related to crime and detective fiction. Some word choices and collocations are less natural, however: “personal likeness to read” does not express the intended preference, “learn criminal behaviour” is unclear, and “excellent way for raising awareness” is awkward. “Suspenseful genre” is also repeated. Aim for more precise, natural combinations and vary repeated terms such as “people” and “crime stories.” This would make the vocabulary more flexible and accurate while preserving your clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses with “as,” “which,” and “because,” and most sentences are easy to understand. For example, the sentence beginning “However, I think that writers and directors should act responsibly” handles a contrast and a recommendation clearly. Some grammatical inaccuracies remain. In “their growing interest in understanding the criminal behaviour,” the article is unnecessary for a general idea; “enjoyed by audience” needs a plural or determiner; and “as it stimulates” has an unclear singular reference to the plural “stories.” The sentence about preventing people “from criminal acts” also needs a more complete grammatical construction. Review articles, agreement, and clause references to improve accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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