Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-14

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people watch TV on their own, while others like watching it with their family. Both ways have good and bad points.

Do the advantages of watching television in these two ways outweigh the disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Some individuals prefer watch TV alone, where as others like watching it with their family. Both ways have benefits and drawbacks. I strongly believe that the advantages of watching television with family or on their own outweigh the disadvantages and refers to spend quality time with family and enjoy free time on their own.

On the one hand, people like to watch TV alone, everyone has their own preferences and sometime people like to spend time alone. For instance, a student who did study for 8 hours and he wants some break in his study schedule. Also, his favorite show arrival is at 8 pm so he can enjoy his tv show sitting alone and other family member will not bother him. As a result, people can enjoy free time.

On the other hand, some people like it watching with their family members. As a result, in this way they can spend quality time together and it also strengthen their bond with each other. For Example, In indian families, siblings watch big boss together and really enjoys it. In addition, people can talk and gossip with each other and discuss about what will happen in the later episodes. They also conversation about their favorite characters

In conclusion, It has more advantages because people can enjoy in free time or can watch their favorite show together with family or alone. Despite of benefits, it also has some drawbacks. If children get addicted to it and it has negatively impact on their eyes and brain.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both ways of watching television and give a clear overall view that their advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The examples about a student relaxing alone and Indian siblings watching a programme together are relevant, but the benefits are mostly asserted rather than fully explained. The disadvantages are only briefly mentioned in the conclusion, so the comparison is not developed evenly. The response is also 7 words below the 250-word minimum; the 10 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. To strengthen the response, explain the drawbacks in the main body and show why the benefits are more significant, while developing each example with a clearer link to your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for watching alone and with family, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of thought easy to follow. You also use signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion.” However, some linking is mechanical or unclear: “As a result” does not clearly show a consequence in the family paragraph, and the sentence beginning “Despite of benefits” does not connect smoothly to the preceding claim. The final paragraph introduces drawbacks without preparing for them earlier. Improve progression by grouping advantages and disadvantages more deliberately, and use referencing and transitions that make the relationship between each idea explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “preferences,” “quality time,” “drawbacks,” and “favorite characters.” Some phrases also show an attempt to express more specific ideas, such as “spend time alone” and “strengthen their bond.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice or collocation errors make the writing less natural, for example “favorite show arrival,” “enjoys it,” and “They also conversation.” Capitalisation and spelling are inconsistent in “tv” and “indian.” Aim to learn common word partnerships and check word forms, rather than relying on repeated general terms such as “people,” “watch,” and “enjoy.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a conditional idea about children becoming addicted and clauses introduced by “where” and “so.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “prefer watch,” “it also strengthen their bond,” and “a student who did study for 8 hours and he wants.” The sentence “They also conversation about their favorite characters” is not grammatically complete. Punctuation and capitalisation also need more consistent control. Practise building accurate sentences around one main clause, then add subordinate clauses only when you can maintain correct verb forms and agreement.

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

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