Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12
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)
During old times, theatres and cinemas play an important role in media industry. People were crazy about the theatres play and cinema shows. One movie was alllowed at one time and no other platform was available where people can watch movies. So, theatres and cinemas supported the economy of country in a very appropriate way. Theatre also promoted our culture by making plays related to out traditions and culture which had very strong impact on people. But now a days, digital age is evolving in a very fast way and replacing the old theatre and cinema's concept. Now a days, alot of platforms are availabe such as Netflix, Youtube, Amazon etc. People have an easy access to whatever show they want to watch. I think digital age is more convenient for people as compared to theatres and cinemas, because it saves the time. Alot of people are office going, some are students, so managing their schedule according to timings of play can be a difficult task. Mostly people have only one holiday, and there are alot of pending tasks to perform that day. If some nice show is released, people watch that show according to their suitable time and they dont have to wait for 1 whole week or even month to watch that. Additionally, cinemas and theatres had really long ques, people have to wait for hours for only one show, sometimes all the tickets were sold and people have to move back without even watching the show. So. digital age is far better and convenient than theatres and cinemas
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt (the decline of theatres/cinemas due to online streaming, and their ongoing economic and cultural importance), and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on the digital age focuses heavily on convenience and time-saving, as seen when you state that 'managing their schedule according to timings of play can be a difficult task.' While your stance is clear, the counter-arguments regarding the economic and cultural value mentioned in the prompt are only briefly touched upon in the introduction and are not fully extended or supported in the body paragraphs. To reach a higher band, you need to develop both sides of the argument more thoroughly with specific examples.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement, but paragraphing is severely deficient. The entire body of the text is written as a single, massive block of text after the opening sentences, making it difficult for the reader to follow the transition between different points. Cohesive devices are also somewhat basic and occasionally repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'Now a days' and 'So'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of paragraph breaks significantly detracts from the organizational structure. To improve, you must separate your introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion into distinct paragraphs and use a wider variety of cohesive ties to link your ideas smoothly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it tends to be basic and repetitive. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'media industry', 'appropriate way', and 'convenient', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, including 'alllowed' instead of 'allowed', 'availabe' instead of 'available', 'alot' instead of 'a lot', and 'ques' instead of 'queues'. Phrases like 'During old times' are also unnatural. While communication is not impeded by these lexical shortcomings, the range remains limited. To achieve a higher score, you should incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure correct spelling and collocation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several recurring errors with articles, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'economy of country' instead of 'the economy of the country', 'cinemas and theatres had really long ques' (tense inconsistency), and 'Mostly people' instead of 'Most people'. Punctuation is also weak, demonstrated by sentence fragments and run-on structures like 'So. digital age is far better'. While the errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Using a broader variety of error-free complex structures will enhance this score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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