Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13

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)

Nowadays entertainment platforms have become a topic of debate among the public. A certain group of people think theatres and cinemas are not important in this modern era because there are many alternatives are available online. While others say that they are still important economically and culturally because they have their own advantages. This essay is in favour of the latter school of thought because theatres and cinemas are important for personal relations and also contributes to economical development.

Some people argue that, traditional theatres and cinemas are not necessary for modern people, as they have many options to entertain themselves. There are many options available on online platforms where people can watch movies, web-series, crickets and live shows but they do not feel satisfaction as same as theater effect. To give an example, according to a public survey people often enjoy movies cheerfully in cinema and theatres.

On the other hand it is said, theatres and cinemas are still important because they contributes to economical and cultural growth. Many people can watch same movie at the same time in theatres and when people buys tickets they indirectly contributes to economical growth. Additionally there is a big personal benefit of watching movies in cinema hall, people can spend quality time with family or friends, which strengthen their relations. To quote an instance, Oxford University had conducted a survey and it is found that people who often go to the theatre for movies they often noticed their bond become stronger.

To conclude, although people have so many options to entertainment themself which reduces the importance of theatres, this essay is in favour of the think that cinemas are still important for spending quality time with their loved ones and for economical growth of the country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the decline of theatres in the digital age and their enduring economic and cultural importance, while also stating a clear position. The ideas are generally relevant, but some are under-developed. For instance, the mention that 'people buys tickets they indirectly contributes to economical growth' is a valid point, but it lacks specific expansion or depth. The examples provided, such as the vague reference to an Oxford University survey, lack concrete detail and tend to generalise. Despite these minor limitations in development, the task is answered satisfactorily, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor where all parts are addressed though some aspects lack thorough extension.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion effectively. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'On the other hand it is said,' and 'To conclude,' though referencing and linking can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly awkward. For example, the sentence 'While others say that they are still important economically and culturally because they have their own advantages' forms an incomplete sentence fragment when paired with the introductory context. Progression is generally logical, moving from the counter-argument to the student's viewpoint, placing this performance securely at Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'economical development,' 'traditional theatres,' and 'quality time.' However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. For example, the student writes 'contributes to economical development' instead of 'economic development' (confusing economical with economic), and uses 'entertainment themself' instead of 'themselves.' Spelling and word-form slips like 'buys tickets' and 'contributes' instead of 'contribute' occur. Because the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message despite these recurring errors, a Band 6 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure with dependent clauses like 'although people have so many options...'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('there are many alternatives are available' and 'people buys tickets... contributes'), missing articles ('in cinema' instead of 'in a cinema'), and punctuation issues like a missing comma after 'On the other hand'. While these errors do not seriously impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from reaching Band 7.

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.