Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-22
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)
In today's world, there are many entertainment activities which are available for people such as playing games, watching television, watch a movie in cinema. Some might thinks that watching movie in cinema is useless as they can able to watch movie online while sitting at home. Other people believe theatres are still important for both economically and culturally.
As technology advances movies are now available online. There are also many platform present to watch movie online. It is also beneficial to watch it on such platform as there are many other movies which are available and people can watch movies anytime they like. As in theatres people usually have to pay to watch one movie while in online people usually pay some amount and can able to watch as many movie they wanted.
On the other hand, they are many people who like to watch movie in theatres as it has big screen. Cinema also give an environment to watch movies. As in cinema they are many people watching movie at same time which give a new experience while watching films. It is good to watch with people instead of sitting alone and watch it in television or a laptop. It also has good quality speaker which enhance movie experience. It also benefit economically and culturally as people use to watch movies in cinema long before the internet develop.
In my opinion, theatres are important for people's entertainment as people can have a good experience and can watch in big screen, as it become difficult to watch them online instead of cinema.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both views and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention the economic and cultural importance of cinemas, these points are not fully explored or supported with specific examples. The arguments regarding online platforms are repetitive, focusing primarily on convenience. To reach a higher band, you should provide more depth, such as discussing specific cultural impacts or the unique economic role of the film industry beyond just ticket prices. Your position is clear, but the supporting arguments lack the necessary detail to be considered fully developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On the other hand' and 'In my opinion' to transition between ideas. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the use of linking words is repetitive. For instance, you frequently start sentences with 'It is also' or 'It also'. Improving the variety of your cohesive devices and ensuring that sentences within paragraphs are more tightly linked would improve the overall flow and logical progression of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your ideas clearly. However, the range is somewhat limited and repetitive. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'watch', and 'important' throughout the essay. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'internet develop' instead of 'internet developed' and 'many platform present' instead of 'many platforms are available'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise, topic-specific vocabulary related to the film industry and digital media to demonstrate a wider range of lexical control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Some might thinks', 'they are many people'), incorrect verb forms ('can able to watch'), and missing articles ('in cinema' instead of 'in the cinema'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To achieve a higher band, you need to focus on mastering basic sentence construction, particularly with modal verbs and pluralization, and aim for greater accuracy in your complex sentence attempts.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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