Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-25

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)

Several individuals believe that in the modern era theaters and cinemas are no longer significant as they were earlier individuals can watch almost everything on the internet. Opponents argue that even now theaters and cinemas are both culturally and economically vital. This has become widely discussed topic in this contemporary society. From my perspective cinemas and theaters still carry the importance. This will be discussed in this essay.

To begin with the reasons that made individuals believe cinemas are no longer a part of entertainment.

There are several reasons but one of the major reason is the state of the art technology which we call mobile especially touch phones. Individuals are using touch phones to watch their favorite shows, movies or songs.

Such as on YouTube an individual can watch almost everything. On YouTube they can select whatever they want to watch or whatever they hearken. Because of this several individuals are now preferring to use the internet rather then going to a cinema or theater.

On the other hand there are numerous individuals who still prefer to watch movie in theaters because the big display in cinema fascinates them. Secondly some movies are only made for cinemas such as odeysseys made by Christopher Nolan. He spent a huge amount of his wealth on this movie so he can earn profit. He proved this right his movie made a world record by generating a huge revenue.

As far as I am concerned about this yes cinemas are still playing a major role in entertainment industries and it is economically and traditionally connected vital.

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 response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is limited. The arguments regarding the internet are somewhat repetitive, and the explanation of the economic and cultural importance of cinemas is underdeveloped. For instance, the mention of Christopher Nolan is a good attempt at an example, but it lacks a clear connection to the broader 'cultural' argument requested by the prompt. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed reasoning and specific examples that directly address the prompt's requirements regarding economic and cultural significance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is hindered by awkward transitions and sentence structure. Phrases like 'To begin with the reasons that made individuals believe...' are clunky and do not effectively signpost the argument. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often mechanical or misused, such as 'Such as on YouTube' starting a sentence. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between ideas feels disjointed. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic terms like 'individuals' and 'things' repeatedly. There are also some awkward word choices, such as 'hearken' (which is used incorrectly here) and 'odeysseys' (spelling error). While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that words are used in their correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include missing articles ('watch movie'), incorrect verb forms, and punctuation errors. For example, 'rather then' should be 'rather than', and 'this has become widely discussed topic' is missing an article. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. You should focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and refining your complex sentence structures to ensure they are error-free.

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

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