Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-20
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 claim that in this modern era, theatres and cinemas are not appealing to the public because most of the entertainments are available online, while others argue that these are quite crucial for earn money and learning cultures. This essay will discuss both viewpoints; however, I believe that cinemas and theatres are crucial because those are the proven way of earning revenues and learning cultures.
One the one hand, people who say that theatres and cinemas are no longer important provide their following reasons. Firstly, individual don't visit to the cinemas or theatres. Nowadays, people are much busier compared to the previous era. They feel that watching cinemas or drama on theatre is not attractive for spending their valuable time. Furthermore, most the entertainments are available online. people can enjoy them on their leisure time and this is quite convenient to the individuals. For example, there are numerous videos about culture of an countries, thus people can enjoy them freely.
On the other hand, there are several major factors why a large number of individuals contend that cinemas and theatres are vital. First of all, theatres help learning culture. They play a crucial role to convey the knowledge to the younger people about their unique cultural heritage. In addition, cinemas and theatres support for earning revenue. The public who visit and contribute by the ticket fees can help to earn money that can be spent to enhance the cultural programmes. For instance, Sri Lanka, earn fairly enough revenue from tourists sector amd they spend them to improve their cultural heritage.
In conclusion, although there are a huge number of documentaries about culture, and cinema online, a group of people and I believe these are quite important because they help learning the culture and improve cultural identity.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding the economic importance of theatres is supported by a brief mention of Sri Lanka, but the explanation remains superficial. The points regarding why people might find theatres 'not attractive' are also a bit repetitive and lack depth. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples with more specific details or logical consequences to fully develop your arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal the progression of your argument. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and there are occasional issues with referencing and flow, such as the phrase 'provide their following reasons' which feels slightly unnatural. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure is easy to follow, though the transitions between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'cultural heritage', 'revenue', and 'documentaries'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'watching cinemas' (instead of 'watching films at the cinema') and 'earn money and learning cultures' (which is grammatically awkward). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and you rely on basic phrasing. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'individual don't visit' (subject-verb agreement), 'most the entertainments' (missing preposition), and 'culture of an countries' (article and pluralization error). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor slips that occur throughout. To achieve a higher score, you need to focus on accuracy in basic grammar, particularly with articles, plurals, and subject-verb agreement, while also attempting more varied complex sentence structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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