Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-22
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people think that it’s a good idea to socialise with work colleagues during evenings and weekends. Other people think it’s important to keep working life completely separate from social life.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.0)
In many countries, traditional physical textbooks are being replaced by digital screens and tablets in school classrooms.Is this a positive or negative development?
In many school classrooms e-books are being used by students in the place of old physical textbooks. This is a beneficial trend because digital media is cheap and essay accessible to pupils.
To commence with the advantages of this shift, firstly, digital books are cheaper than physical books; therefore, it is easy for individuals to buy more material for study in less investment. They have to spend money on once when they are buying laptops, after that they can access different books and material without any chargers because the authority often provides these stuff for free of chargers. Secondly, students can read form tablets at anywhere even if they are traveling. They do not need to carry different subjects books since they already have all sort of material in one screen. Hence, it is much more convenient as compared to physical books.
Furthermore, digital screens have made the world into small village where student can learn from different tutors while sitting at a different corner of the world. In other words, they have more options by the comparison of the past. Nowadays, many schools hire tutor from different nation, which is only possible through digital screens. It is also easy for students to learn new languages from native speaker, It will help them to become multi-lingual with no time.
In conclusion, although old physical textbooks have their own benefits, I believe that changing them with laptops and other digital screens could be a positive development since it is very convenient and cheaper than traditional books.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 3.0
The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for a discussion on socializing with work colleagues, but the essay discusses the replacement of physical textbooks with digital screens. As the student failed to address the actual task question, the score is severely impacted. While the essay is structured as an argument, it does not respond to the specific prompt provided, resulting in a failure to meet the requirements of the task.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing and the use of cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. Ideas are sequenced in a way that makes the text easy to follow, even though the content is irrelevant to the prompt. The transition between paragraphs is logical, and the progression of ideas within the paragraphs is clear, demonstrating a level of coherence that would be effective if the topic were correct.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, though somewhat repetitive and limited in range. There are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'less investment' instead of 'lower cost' and 'without any chargers' instead of 'without any charges'. While the student attempts to use some academic vocabulary like 'multi-lingual' and 'convenient', the overall lexical range is restricted and does not demonstrate the flexibility required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'They have to spend money on once' and 'carry different subjects books'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices and spacing issues. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band.
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.