Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 crime novels and dramas on television are mostly liked by people in many nations. I completely agree with this statement.

To start with, crimes being committed all over the world are increasing day by day. TV shows are full of crime dramas as people are mostly interested in the crime topics and the way those are presented. Although, the stories presented in the novels and series are amazing, suspenseful and heart touching. Since the end of the play we can't predict who the victim is. The climax of these crime plays is super and the writer of the story plays a crucial role to bind people till the end of the story. For instance,

"Drishayam" TV show has a gripping story that keeps me on the edge of my seat always.

Moving further, these type of novels and plays also have adverse effect on the mind of people. Some of them only like to watch these dramas or read novels to commit a crime. Though criminals learn about various type of technology and tricks to commit an offense and remove evidences from the site.

To conclude, the mystery novels and drama series are so suspensful that nobody could stop watching till the end, but if only used for entertainment purpose. When youngsters use these shows to commit thriller scenes, it seems like there should be some boundaries for such plays and writers narrating the stories or the goverment should implement restrictions such as age limit and on weapon purchase.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the prompt: you suggest that suspense and engaging storytelling attract audiences, and you give an opinion that crime dramas can be entertaining but may also have harmful effects. The example of “Drishayam” helps make your personal response more concrete. However, the reasons for popularity are not fully developed: the claim that crime is increasing does not clearly explain why people choose crime fiction, and the discussion of criminals learning techniques is asserted rather than supported. Your opinion is present, but the final call for restrictions shifts toward policy without explaining how this follows from your earlier points. Develop each main reason with a clearer explanation or example to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To start with,” “Moving further,” and “To conclude” help signal the stages of your argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first body paragraph moves from rising crime to suspense, then to a television example without clearly linking these points. “Although” and “Since” also introduce sentences whose relationship to the surrounding ideas is difficult to follow. The second body paragraph presents a concern but does not explain or illustrate it. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and ensure each paragraph develops one central idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “suspenseful,” “victim,” “climax,” “gripping story,” and “commit a crime,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “keeps me on the edge of my seat.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “crimes being committed … are increasing day by day,” “heart touching” for a crime story, and “remove evidences.” Spelling errors such as “suspensful” and “goverment” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling; for example, describe a plot as “emotionally engaging” or say criminals may “destroy evidence.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including clauses beginning with “Although” and “Since,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, some complex sentences are incomplete or incorrectly connected. “Although, the stories … are amazing” is not a complete contrast, while “Since the end of the play we can't predict who the victim is” has an unclear clause structure. There are also errors in agreement and number, as in “these type of novels,” and in sentence construction, such as “Though criminals learn…” standing alone as a dependent clause. Practise building complete sentences around subordinate clauses, and check articles, plurals and verb forms before submitting.

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

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