Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-16

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 5.5)

With the increase of the violent content being shown on television, people have mixed views and opinions whether or not it has a harmful effect on the consumers.

According to individuals, humans can distinguish between reality and imagination and watching such content is a means of relaxing yourself. Some people prefer violent shows as it facinates their mind. Such content is a means of redirecting their frustration and regulating themselves. When people feel angry they put on a movie which shows a lot of hitting scenes. They imagine themselves doing that and it lessens their anger. Some people say that they enjoy violence when it is subjected towards the villian of the story. It gives them great satisfaction that the villian ends up getting what they deserved. Justice is not always shown in the real world so it good to see it in movies or shows for a change.

However, according to some researchers consuming such content affects the brain in a negative manner. It sends an unconscious message to the brain that this level and type of violence is normal. When people are subjected to frustration in their life thay then resort to violent methods instead of talking it out. It wires their brain to act in a particular manner.

I believe that watching fictional violence has really negative consequences and impacts the brain badly. It gives individuals ideas on how to exactly resort to violence. Infact the last school shooting in Pakistan was in reality inspired a recent movie. This reestablishes the saying, that you are what you consume.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on fictional violence and providing a clear personal opinion. The student explores the arguments that violence can act as a harmless release for frustration and a means of symbolic justice, alongside the counter-argument that it normalises aggressive behaviour. Ideas are extended and supported, such as mentioning specific scenarios like watching villains get what they deserve or the reference to a school shooting in Pakistan. While the development tends to be somewhat general in places, a clear position is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure separating the introduction, the two opposing views, and the conclusion. However, cohesion at the sentence level is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent starting of sentences with 'Some people' or 'According to individuals'. Referencing is generally clear, but transitional markers between ideas could be managed more flexibly to achieve a smoother progression. Paragraphing is used appropriately to distinguish the introduction, body paragraphs, and the writer's final stance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting some less common items and topic-specific phrases such as 'distinguish between reality and imagination', 'redirecting their frustration', and 'unconscious message'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice inaccuracies, such as 'facinates' instead of 'fascinates', 'villian' instead of 'villain', and 'thay' instead of 'they'. Despite these minor flaws, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary remains minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over punctuation and syntax. Examples such as 'When people feel angry they put on a movie which shows a lot of hitting scenes' show an ability to construct multi-clause sentences. However, there are persistent grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'opinions whether or not' (missing 'on'), 'subjected towards' (should be 'subjected to'), and 'inspired a recent movie' (missing 'by'). These errors do not impede communication, but they keep the score at the level where a mix of accurate and faulty structures is present.

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