Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-19

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 5.0)

Many people believe every undergraduate degree should have mandatory study abroad or work placement.

I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because it benefits students' careers and personal growth, though some challenges exist.

To begin with, work placement gives real job experience which improves career benefits. Having real job experience leads to an improved CV and helps with future employment. Moreover, it also enhances practical skills for students when they apply classroom theory to real work situations. Furthermore, students get exposure to global awareness, different cultures, languages, and ways of thinking.

In addition, personal development occurs by building confidence, independence, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. For instance, engineering students doing internships in companies learn tools not taught in class.

Even though, there are certain drawbacks also, such as financial cost, academic disruption, and logistic issues. For instance, studying abroad or unpaid placements can be expensive for students as well as for their families. On the other hand, academic disruption may delay graduation or interrupt studies. Despite this, some degrees like medicine or pure maths may not benefit much from a placement. Similarly, visa problems, finding suitable placements, or language barriers for studying abroad also become challenging issues.

Thus, from my perception better job prospects and life-skills are more valuable than short-term costs. Eventually, universities can provide funding, scholarships and help arrange placements to reduce problems.

To conclude, despite costs and difficulties, the benefits of experience and global exposure are greater. Thus, universities should make it part of all undergraduate courses with proper support.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for a discussion on the importance of theatres and cinemas in the digital age, but the essay discusses whether undergraduate degrees should have mandatory study abroad or work placements. Because the response fails to address the task prompt entirely, it cannot be assessed for task achievement regarding the actual question. In an official IELTS examination, this would result in a very low score for Task Achievement as the content is irrelevant to the instructions provided. To improve, ensure you carefully read the prompt and identify the specific topic before beginning your outline.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

Despite being off-topic, the essay demonstrates a clear structure. It uses paragraphing effectively to separate the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'In addition', and 'To conclude' are used to link ideas logically. The progression of arguments is clear, and the internal logic within the paragraphs is sound. If the content had been relevant to the prompt, this would be a strong performance in terms of organization. The use of transition signals is appropriate and helps the reader follow the writer's line of reasoning, even though the subject matter is incorrect.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate for an academic essay. The student uses terms like 'mandatory', 'practical skills', 'academic disruption', and 'global awareness' effectively. There is a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey ideas with some precision. While there are no highly sophisticated or uncommon lexical items, the word choice is accurate and fits the context of the arguments presented. There are no significant spelling or word-choice errors that impede communication. To reach a higher band, the student should incorporate more precise collocations and less common academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. The student uses subordinating conjunctions such as 'even though' and 'despite' to create complex sentences. While there are minor errors, such as the awkward phrasing 'Even though, there are certain drawbacks also', the grammar is generally controlled and does not hinder understanding. The majority of sentences are clear and grammatically sound. Punctuation is used correctly for the most part. To improve, the student should focus on refining sentence variety and ensuring that introductory phrases are punctuated correctly without unnecessary commas.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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