Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-09

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)

There is an ongoing debate about whether upcoming ways of watching movies will surpass the older ways, such as watching movies in online rather then in cinemas. In this essay discuss both the perspectives before presenting my own opinion.

On the first hand, I will discuss that in upcoming future cinemas and theatres would be no longer in use, because in this modern world people are enjoying to watch movies on online platforms rather then watching movies in cinemas or in theatres. For example, there are number of apps which can provide better experience in compare to watching movies in cinemas. In addition, I strongly believe that online platform will takeover the older ways of watching movies.

On the other hand, there are some people who believe that cinemas and theatres are important for both economically and culturally. Moreover, These two ways of watching movies plays an crucial role in someone's life, because there are a lot of people those who likes to watch movies in cinemas and they are the main reason for the growth of the history of entertainment. Such as, In the early days of watching movies there were no such apps or platforms for watching movies, So people started watching movies in cinemas and theatres. This is the main reason for the growth of the cinemas and theatres.

In conclusion, From my perspective I think that theatres and cinemas would be discontinue in future ,because there is an rapid growth in technology due to which I believe that online platform for entertainment will also grow rapidly.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is limited. The arguments regarding the economic and cultural importance of cinemas are vague and lack specific, well-supported examples. For instance, the mention of 'growth of the history of entertainment' is unclear and does not effectively explain the cultural significance. The response is somewhat repetitive, and the ideas could be extended with more depth to reach a higher band. The position is consistent, but the supporting evidence is underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'On the first hand' (should be 'On the one hand') and 'Such as' used as a sentence starter are awkward. The logical progression between sentences is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the second body paragraph where the connection between historical context and the current importance of cinemas is not clearly linked. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making the flow feel somewhat forced.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of word-choice errors, such as 'upcoming ways' instead of 'modern methods' and 'discontinue' used as an intransitive verb. The repetition of basic phrases like 'watching movies' and 'online platforms' limits the lexical variety. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated or topic-specific vocabulary prevents a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('These two ways... plays an crucial role'), incorrect prepositions ('in compare to'), and confusion between 'then' and 'than'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas and periods. While the meaning is usually understandable, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction is a significant constraint.

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