Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-06
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 recent days, the world is changing from manual tasks to automation. With the advancement of technology, people prefer to create comfort and convenience in their lives. Even though, with the access of the internet, individuals can easily see content of their devices from anywhere in the world, one group of people still believes that in the current era, theaters and cinemas are still vital both economically and culturally. This essay will discuss both views, and then I will put in my opinion.
Firstly, due to the access of the internet to a large amount of the population, it is easy for anyone to watch any content from anywhere in the world. Additionally, with the advancement in technology and mobile in the pocket, viewers prefer to watch movies and dramas on their phones and other electronic gadgets. Everyone is so busy in their lives, and they have no time to go to the cinema or spend money for tickets, and they prefer to watch online through online entertainment platforms. For instance, a financial report of Netflix, which is an online entertainment platform, revealed that in just the last two years their subscribers jumped from ten million to 65 million in Pakistan. This survey shows that now people prefer to see content online.
Secondly, another group argues that people want to know about their culture by the growth of cinemas and the theaters. In theaters, every person has access to stars of the drama, and they can meet with them easily. Additionally, by meeting with stars to know about the real picture of their culture. Whenever there is a release of any movie, the stars of the movie prefer to visit the cinema to encourage the people to see their celebrities between them at just one ticket price. As in cinema, the ticket for a movie is around 300 rupees in HD view, but YouTube charges around 800 rupees to watch the same content on its platform.
In conclusion, according to my perspective, even though culture and finance are vital in human life, due to the busy and hectic routine of individuals, people prefer to see content online, which is very convenient to save energy as well as time.
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 views and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding the economic and cultural importance of cinemas is underdeveloped and relies on somewhat confusing logic, such as the comparison between cinema ticket prices and YouTube subscription costs, which does not clearly support the economic argument. While the position is consistent, the supporting points could be more logically structured and expanded with more relevant examples to reach a higher band. The essay covers all parts of the prompt, but the depth of analysis is limited.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the flow between sentences is slightly disjointed, particularly in the second body paragraph where the connection between meeting stars and the economic argument is not fully articulated. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, but the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'automation', 'subscribers', and 'entertainment platforms'. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'see content of their devices' instead of 'view content on their devices' and 'stars of the drama' instead of 'actors'. The range is sufficient for the task, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Some phrasing is repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'content' and 'people'.
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, such as 'due to the access of the internet to a large amount of the population' and 'everyone is so busy in their lives'. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, the writer should focus on subject-verb agreement and more accurate prepositional usage to increase the number of error-free sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.