Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-01

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)

While some individuals say screening shows and cinemas are outdated as people are watching all

entertainment they want online, others argue that theatres and movies are still important for both

economically and culturally. From my perspective, although digital media is significantly increasing, theatres cannot be replaced.

On the one hand, some believe attending physical screening are old fashioned and public is shifting towards digital apps. For example, instead of attending theatres people are watching movies on ott apps. Moreover, rather than spending on movie tickets public is buying one time digital subscriptions and enjoying multiple movies.

On the other hand, some people argue public screenings are still equally important. Furthermore, theatres are the one of the major source of countries development which cannot be over shadowed. For example, when a low budgeted cinema earns a huge profit the tax paid by the movie to the government helps in the development of a country. not only theatres are important for the growth of economy, but also the culture it follows from a long period of time. In my view, I completely stand with this opinion because even though new technology is taking over cinema to a new position, old format of consuming films cannot be replaced.

To conclude, both the views have their own thinking, but the positive approach would be promoting the theatre filming and enjoying cinema with the people we love which will develop cultural living and spending money in theatres would also benefits in the economical growth of world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the economic argument regarding tax revenue is a good point, but it lacks specific detail or a concrete example to fully support the claim. The discussion on the 'cultural' aspect is mentioned but not sufficiently explored. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed explanations or specific real-world examples to ensure the arguments are fully developed rather than just stated.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' to signal the structure. However, the use of linking words is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'Furthermore' used to introduce a point that is not clearly connected to the previous sentence. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall readability of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'digital subscriptions', 'ott apps', and 'economic growth'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'theatres are the one of the major source of countries development' and 'the culture it follows from a long period of time'. Expanding your range of vocabulary and focusing on more precise collocations would help you achieve a higher score.

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, particularly with articles (e.g., 'the theatres', 'the economical growth'), pluralisation, and subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'theatres... benefits in the economical growth'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some missing commas and awkward phrasing. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed correctly without errors that occasionally distract the reader.

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