Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-10

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)

In different nations today, TV crime series and crime novels are becoming more and more popular. These days people are more attracted towards interesting crime stories because they want to increase their knowledge about crime, so that is why they like to watch these kind of series and read crime books. In my opinion, it is a positive development but it also has some drawbacks.

The main reason people love to watch crime dramas is that they want to learn more about the reasons behind those crime stories. People are more curious towards these stories because these days a lot of crime events happening in the societies. So, by watching these kind of TV dramas they get an idea of what is the possible reason behind this incident. As a result, they prepare themselves about these kind of incidents.

Another reason is that people love to read crime novels. Many films are based on famous crime novels, so when people watch these kind of movies they get attracted towards the story of the movie. Consequently, they start reading different crime books and novels. Also, people love to read many famous writer novels who published many crime related stories.

However, it comes with some drawbacks as well. Some people love to watch crime related dramas and start making assumptions in their daily life. They get so much influenced by these stories that they start thinking something suspicious behind normal things which makes the situation worse because it is just their assumption. On several situation, people start fighting with others by just assuming things in their mind that others are trying to do something wrong with them.

In conclusion, crime novels and dramas are becoming popular in between people because it entertains them. It is has some good benefits to watch but it also comes with some drawbacks which people need to keep in mind while watching and reading these type of crime novels.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the prompt: you suggest that crime stories attract people who want to understand criminal motives, and you give a view that their popularity has benefits as well as drawbacks. The paragraph about viewers becoming suspicious of ordinary behaviour supports your concern with a relevant consequence. However, your opinion is only broadly stated as “a positive development” before the essay focuses mainly on drawbacks, so the overall position could be clearer. The reasons for popularity also need fuller explanation: the point about films based on novels describes how readers may discover books, but does not fully explain why crime fiction itself appeals. Develop each reason with a specific example and make your final judgement more definite.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for reasons and drawbacks, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “As a result,” “Consequently,” and “However” help show relationships between ideas. The progression is generally understandable, but some connections are repetitive or not fully logical. For example, the paragraph about novels moves from films adapting books to people reading novels, without clearly explaining the appeal of crime fiction. “These kind of” is also repeated across paragraphs, making the referencing feel mechanical. To improve, organise each body paragraph around one main point, explain it in sequence, and use varied, precise references to avoid repeating the same phrase.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “crime novels,” “crime dramas,” “assumptions,” and “suspicious.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, particularly “these kind of” and “crime related.” Some word choices and collocations are noticeably unnatural, such as “curious towards these stories,” “prepare themselves about these kind of incidents,” and “in between people.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but they reduce precision and fluency. Build a wider set of natural expressions for discussing motives, suspense, and audience appeal, and check how verbs combine with prepositions. More precise vocabulary would also help distinguish the reasons people enjoy crime fiction.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “so,” and “that,” and the main ideas remain understandable. However, some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and verb forms persist. For example, “a lot of crime events happening” needs a finite verb, while “these kind of series” has a number-agreement problem. The conclusion contains “It is has,” and “people love to read many famous writer novels” has an unclear grammatical relationship between the words. Some sentences also rely on repeated patterns rather than showing a wider range of controlled structures. Review agreement and verb forms, then proofread each sentence for a complete, correctly formed clause.

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