Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that in the digital age, theatres and cinemas are no longer important as people can watch all the entertainment they want online. Others argue that theatres and cinemas are still important both economically and culturally.

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)

Many people believe that in this digital age people can watch entertainment online rather than going in cinema where as some still believe that cinema and theatres still have a significant importance.

This essay will discuss both the views which are addressed and why i believe both are important.

On the one hand it can be seen that now a days online entertainment has made traditional venues less essential as now everything is easily available online. Streaming platforms now a days has made everything easily accessible for a person as he or she can watch whatever they desire at a very low cast sitting at home rather than going to cinema. This is very pleasing for a person who has busy schedule as he can watch movies, seasons whenever he gets free time in that exact place. For example now a days we have a steaming platform known as Netflix which offers variety of shows and movies at a very low cost. Hence people make most out of it watch them whilst being at home in a relax environment.

In my opinion people prefer being at home and watching entertainment rather than going home as it streaming platforms are relatively cheap.

On the other hand many people still go to cinema to watch entertainment as they love to watch it on a big screen and most importantly they have a better quality that is why people still prefer going cinema. Other than that Economically they provide employment for actors, technicians, and staff. Furthermore cinema can help local business in its surroundings for example, if there is a theatre or cinema and in its surrounding there are restaurants and shopping centres it can attract many customers towards them which would help them generate revenue for their business.

In my opinion cinemas can be very helpful as they can attract a lot of customers for its surrounding business.

In my view online streaming platform has reduced the need to go to cinemas however cinemas still have that importance as they can be a means for employment for many people other than that many people have busy schedule and cannot go to cinema for them online entertainment can be very helpful.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear overall position: online streaming reduces the need to visit cinemas, but venues remain important for employment and nearby businesses. The discussion of online access is supported with relevant points about convenience, cost and Netflix, while the economic case includes employment and benefits to surrounding restaurants and shops. However, the cultural importance named in the prompt is not really discussed, and the case for the cinema-going experience is only briefly explained through the big screen and quality. Your opinion is also repeated in separate statements rather than developed into a fuller comparison. To strengthen the response, explain what cultural value theatres or cinemas provide and extend the reasons behind your position with a specific example or clearer explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph for each view and a concluding summary. The signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the contrast, and examples are generally placed beside the relevant claims. However, progression is weakened by repeated points: the preference for home streaming and the economic benefits of cinemas are each restated in separate opinion sentences. Some links are mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “In my opinion” and “Furthermore,” and the final paragraph largely repeats earlier content instead of synthesising it. Improve cohesion by combining related claims, using clearer references to connect examples to the argument, and ensuring each paragraph advances a distinct point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “streaming platforms,” “big screen,” “employment,” and “generate revenue.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “attract many customers” and “a relax environment.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive: “low cast” appears where a cost-related expression is intended, “steaming platform” is misspelled, and “watch entertainment” is less natural than a more precise phrase. Repeated use of “now a days,” “important,” and “people” also limits variety. Build a more precise range of collocations for discussing access, cultural value and economic impact, and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “as,” “which,” and “if,” and the overall meaning is usually clear. Some sentence patterns are handled successfully, such as the explanation that streaming is convenient for people with busy schedules. However, errors in agreement, articles, sentence boundaries and punctuation recur. For example, “Streaming platforms … has made” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “cinema and theatres still have a significant importance” has an awkward article pattern. The opening sentence also runs together several ideas, and capitalisation of “i” and “Economically” is inconsistent. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, correct agreement, and appropriate punctuation, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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