Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-02

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 7.0)

In the last decade, entertainment has become more accessible through OTT and other online streaming services that serve all kinds of content. It has been argued that in this era, theatres and cinemas have become less important as all the entertainment is available online. While others say that theatres and cinemas have both economical and cultural importance.

I support the claim that these online streaming services have made theatres and cinemas less practical due to their benefits. First of all, they offer a large number of shows, movies, etc. all in the price of one subscription. Moreover, individuals get the comfort and freedom to watch at their own desired time and could pause at any given point. Another aspect of OTT are the web series, these are not possible to screen in cinemas or theatres due to their high number of episodes.

While online streaming having its merits, the argument that theatres and cinemas have both economical and cultural significance can not be ignored. Theatres provide platform for regional entertainment to reach to the audience, it typically has a lower budget and streaming services do not consider it as a worthy investment to buy the rights. On the other hand, movie producers put a large amount of money in making a film, they earn their major income through cinemas. However, these forms of entertainment have many drawbacks, for instance a person who consumes content every week, OTT is much more economical than buying tickets each time. Streaming services even have older shows and movies that people could not get in cinemas.

To conclude, I believe that people should understand the balance of when to use streaming and when to go to cinemas and theatres. People should go to cinemas occasionally as they offer the experience that is not possible to get at home due to the big screens and better sound quality. While for day to day entertainment and consuming content that is not available in cinemas, one should use streaming services.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.5
Overall7.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the decline of cinemas due to online streaming and their ongoing economic and cultural importance. You clearly state your opinion in the introduction and maintain it throughout. The ideas are relevant and generally well-supported, such as the mention of regional content and the immersive experience of cinemas. However, some points could be developed further; for instance, the economic argument regarding film production could be more explicitly linked to the 'importance' mentioned in the prompt. Overall, the position is clear and the response fulfills the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' to guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions between sentences could be more sophisticated to avoid a slightly mechanical feel. For example, the sentence 'While online streaming having its merits' is a fragment and disrupts the flow. Despite this, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'accessible', 'significance', and 'economical' appropriately. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'serve all kinds of content' (which could be 'host' or 'provide') and 'put a large amount of money in making' (which should be 'invest in'). You attempt to use some less common vocabulary, which is good, but there is room to increase the precision and sophistication of your word choices to reach a higher band. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly without difficulty.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical slips. For example, 'While online streaming having its merits' is grammatically incorrect (should be 'While online streaming has its merits'). There are also minor punctuation and article errors, such as 'provide platform' (should be 'provide a platform') and 'in the price of' (should be 'for the price of'). Despite these errors, the meaning is never obscured, and you show a reasonable level of control over basic and some complex structures. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will improve your score.

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