Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-07

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)

There are significant amount of argument among people about watching entertainment contents in cinema hall or in the digital devices via online.

In my opinion, I think that watching entertainment contents in cinema hall or theatre is still important, rather than watching them online at home.

If we consider it economically, the people connected with the development of the entertainment contents are doing it for making profit and grow their career simultaneously. On contrast, watching the content via online platform like Netflix or Amazon Prime can be cheaper for the audience but it cannot enough revenue for the film-maker if people do not buy enough tickets to attend the theatres.

Furthermore, if we consider it culturally, watching films in the theatres has been running for centuries and most of the people find it more entertaining than watching it alone at home. Before there were big cinema halls, people used to hang big white clothes and projected the film on it to enjoy the film. I also learned from one of my uncle that they used to walk miles to recharge the battery to run the projector. So, its been a natural part of the people's life that cannot be removed easily.

From one of my experience, me and my friends went to watch the movie Thor in theatre in 2019, we enjoyed a lot as the crowd goes wild when Thor lifted his hammer. After few days I rewatched the film at home on my laptop, but couldn't find that amount joy like the theatre.

So, some people think that online entertainment is better than theatres and cinema halls but they cannot be replaced because of their aura of enjoyment and the quality time they provide with our loved ones. That's why I choose theatres and cinema halls over online media.

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. While the economic argument is mentioned, it lacks depth, and the cultural argument relies heavily on personal anecdotes rather than broader societal analysis. The prompt asks to discuss the importance of theatres/cinemas economically and culturally, but the economic point is underdeveloped, focusing only on ticket sales rather than the broader industry impact. The position is consistent, but the supporting arguments could be more robust to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'On contrast', and 'So' are used to link ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or unnatural, such as 'On contrast' (should be 'In contrast') and the opening sentence structure is a bit clunky. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between the economic and cultural arguments could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different stages of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'entertainment contents' and 'watching'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'revenue' and 'projector', there are errors in collocation and word choice, such as 'significant amount of argument' (should be 'significant amount of debate') and 'cannot enough revenue' (missing a verb). The language is functional but rarely sophisticated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout, such as 'me and my friends went' (should be 'my friends and I'), 'its been a natural part' (should be 'it has been'), and 'couldn't find that amount joy' (missing 'of'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The control of punctuation and verb tenses is inconsistent, particularly in the anecdotal section.

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.