Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-08-31

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think that the fictional violence portrayed on television is harmless entertainment. Others disagree and think that it encourages violent behaviour.

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 6.5)

Opinions differ regarding the impact of fictional violence portrayed on television. While some individuals think that it is harmless entertainment, I largely believe that it can encourage violent behavior by reducing empathy and increasing aggression among the viewers.

Fictional violence portrayed on television is harmless entertainment because it is a good source of entertainment. The imagery part of it can keep the viewers attentive for a longer time. For example, watching characters falling from the sky can make someone be attentive as they wait for the next move. Consequently, it becomes the most interesting type of entertainment.

Nevertheless, it would be unrealistic to overlook the fact that the information absorbed regularly can influence a persons character by increasing aggression among the viewers. For instance, when a baby who does not understand English watches cartoons displayed in English, they can become aggressive and begin to imitate the successful characters eventually behaving like them.

Furthermore, excessive exposure to fictional violence may reduce empathy and make individuals less sensitive to the suffering of others. For example, researchers have found an association between the behavior of several criminals and their interest in fictional violent movies online which clearly illustrates the relationship between reality and information absorbed by the human brain. Essentially, criminals become less sensitive to other people by absorbing violent content regularly . As a result, they end up killing fellow human beings.

To conclude, while the exposure to violent movies can be entertaining to the viewers, I largely believe that it may be harmful because it can increase aggression among the viewers and reduce their empathy.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal position. The ideas are relevant, though the development is somewhat uneven. For instance, the argument regarding 'characters falling from the sky' is a bit simplistic and lacks depth. The second body paragraph provides a more logical connection between media consumption and behavioral outcomes. While the prompt is fully addressed, the supporting examples could be more sophisticated to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points and reiterates the writer's stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Nevertheless', 'Furthermore', and 'As a result' are used to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the perspective of entertainment to the potential negative psychological impacts. Referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be improved by varying the structure of the cohesive devices used to connect the arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific language like 'empathy', 'aggression', and 'fictional violence'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'The imagery part of it' and 'information absorbed regularly'. To improve, the writer should focus on more precise collocations and a wider range of academic vocabulary to avoid repetitive word choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is consistently clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'a persons character' (missing apostrophe) and 'the exposure to violent movies' (unnecessary article). The sentence structure is generally functional, but there is a lack of more sophisticated complex structures that would demonstrate a higher level of control. Punctuation is mostly accurate, though minor errors persist. The errors present do not impede communication, but they do limit the score.

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