Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-04
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)
It is widely argued around the world that there is no need of cinemas and theatres in this digital world, while others believe that cinemas and theatres are equally important still, as there role is vital in economic and cultural sense. I believe that digital application have taken the larger share of audience from cinemas and theatres but these applications will never capture the full intension of audience.
On the one hand, Digital applications over took cinemas and theatres in the proportion of viewers. Nowadays, there are many websites which provide the facility to see anything without charging a single penny. I believe that this major reason, why most of people are interested to see these movies there. For example, Movies pro is an internationally used website to watch every movie in free with HD quality. As the result, more and more people are using it to spend their spare time.
On the other hand, cinemas and theatres play a vital role to make or break the society norms and also a key driver to run the film industry economy.
For example, every movie released in cinemas first to generate budget and get maximum profit. After that rights are given to digital applications to public the movie and gained popularity to attract more audience. Hence, it is a fact that everything is going in a systematic way, so this is not possible for digital applications to outweigh cinemas and theatres.
However, there are many people who prefer to watch movies and theatres shows because these websites and digital applications are not able to give them real life experience such as people engagement and laughing together on funny dialogues. Therefore, i believe that both platforms will share audience in a balance way.
In a nutshell, i would argue that cinemas and theatres are still more vibrant than these digital apps by providing best experience to their viewers.
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 all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the economic role of cinemas and the social experience of viewing. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding the economic importance of cinemas is a bit simplistic, and the explanation of how digital platforms and cinemas coexist could be more nuanced. While the position is clear, some points, such as the mention of 'Movies pro', are slightly underdeveloped. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is supported by more detailed reasoning or broader examples rather than just stating the point.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In a nutshell', which help guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the economic argument and the conclusion is slightly abrupt. Additionally, the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'I believe that this major reason, why most of people are interested to see these movies there.' Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'vibrant' and 'systematic way', but there are also instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'public the movie' instead of 'publish' or 'release', and 'in a balance way' instead of 'in a balanced way'. Some phrasing is repetitive, and the use of 'Movies pro' as an example is informal. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and academic vocabulary to convey ideas with greater sophistication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the society norms'), prepositions ('in economic and cultural sense'), and verb forms ('there role is vital'). There are also issues with punctuation and capitalization, such as the lowercase 'i' used throughout the text. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the accuracy of basic grammar and ensuring consistent use of complex structures would help improve this score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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