Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-28

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 this generation, watching shows or reading book novels have been part daily life. Some cannot even survive without seeing anything at all. For the past century, different themes are slowly arising from the charts and some making it to the top. Such examples are reality TV shows that features bad elements. This type of genre brings out the curiosity or viewers as to how such individual can do such thing without feeling remorse.

In a popular mobile device application, there is a streaming platform where anyone can watch a documentary regarding serial killers, victomology and even the timelines. This intrigues everyone thus resulting to higher viewership per episode. Although crime fiction and TV drama may differ in some occasions but the typical cases being shown here is that in fact already happenen real life, which makes the viewer question and be much more invested in watching.

Such examples is this show called "Criminal Minds", even from the first episode I got hooked up in watching it, and begs the real question on what really are the thoughts of a criminal, how does he operate and how can he be able to pull out such thing without people noticing it.

Watching fictional TV shows or drama can be satifsying, but we must make sure that it is for viewing only and we must not follow the things that is said here.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: you suggest that viewers are drawn by curiosity about criminals’ motives and by the connection between dramas and real cases, and you give a personal example through Criminal Minds. Your final sentence also signals a cautious opinion that these programmes should be for entertainment rather than imitation. However, the response is short of the required 250 words, and the ideas remain limited and under-developed. The reasons for popularity are not clearly separated or supported with enough explanation, while your opinion is only briefly stated. Develop each reason with a specific explanation or example, and make your view of crime fiction more explicit—for instance, whether you consider it valuable, entertaining, or potentially harmful, and why.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from general popularity to streaming content, a personal example, and a concluding caution. This gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, the overall progression is not always clear: the opening shifts from books and shows to reality TV, then to documentaries, without explaining how these examples relate to crime fiction and drama. Linking phrases such as “Although” and “thus” are used, but some connections are awkward or do not clearly show the relationship between ideas. The paragraph about Criminal Minds could be connected more directly to your explanation of why audiences are interested. Use a clearer sequence—reasons for popularity, your opinion, then a conclusion—and make references between sentences more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “serial killers,” “viewership,” “remorse,” and “criminal,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “the thoughts of a criminal” and “how he operate.” However, the range is limited, and several word choices or forms are inaccurate enough to make parts less natural or occasionally unclear. Examples include “book novels,” “bad elements,” and “victomology”; the intended meaning of “bad elements” is especially vague. Spelling errors such as “happenen” and “satifsying” also affect accuracy. Build a more precise set of phrases for motives, suspense, investigation, and audience appeal, and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “a streaming platform where anyone can watch” and a contrast introduced by “Although.” These attempts show some range, but complex structures are often faulty, and frequent errors can make the reader pause. For example, “watching shows or reading book novels have been part daily life” has problems with agreement and sentence construction, while “Such examples is this show” has incorrect agreement and an unclear structure. In “the typical cases being shown here is,” the subject and verb do not agree. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, articles, and tense patterns when revising.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.