Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16

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 in this new era binge watching became common as mlost people recommend spending their time while sitting infront of TV and other gadgets because they find it more convenient than going outside to watch a single movie and spend hours out there. In the following paragraphs we will discuss regarding the features, advantages and disadvantage and provide the opinion on the same.

To begin with, in this technology driven world many things has been changed from the past few years such as the way of communication, automobile sector and so on. In addition to this one of them is cinema, a few years ago when mankind was not introduced to the technology and for their entertainment purposes they used to go for shopping in the malls, theathers to watch first day first shows irrespective of standing in the que for long hours just to get the tickets perhaps that was the part of their enjoyment.

On the other hand, since the OTT platforms came into the picture people started giving more importance to those platforms and abandoning going to theaters because after a while the movies can be played on their own televisions. Moreover, aged people still find cinemas more attracted and the cause of this is that their memories attached to the whole procedure whereas they do not understand the concept of OTT's as they are old souls.

In conclusion, i partially agree with the concept of that in the digital age, theatres and cinemas are no longer important as people can watch all the entertainment they want online because every individual has their own way of entertaining themselves and that can not be imposed or changed by anyone regardless of technology introduced.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the decline of theatres due to online entertainment and the economic/cultural arguments for their survival, while also providing a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and superficial. For instance, the introduction relies on a generic outline rather than a clear thesis statement, writing phrases like 'In the following paragraphs we will discuss regarding the features, advantages and disadvantage'. The conclusion attempts to present a nuanced view by stating 'i partially agree', but the reasoning remains a bit underdeveloped. While the prompt is adequately answered, the overall depth aligns with a Band 6.0 performance, where relevant ideas are present but lack full extension.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement and follows a standard four-paragraph structure. Paragraphing is attempted, though transitions between ideas feel mechanical and abrupt. Phrases such as 'To begin with,' and 'On the other hand,' are used to signal shifts, but referencing and logical progression are sometimes faulty. For example, the second paragraph abruptly jumps from communication and automobile sectors to cinemas without a smooth transitional link. Furthermore, punctuation and sentence boundaries are poorly managed, notably in the overly long run-on sentences in the introduction and conclusion, making cohesion sometimes repetitive or strained. This places the response firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, where cohesion is functional but occasionally clumsy.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic ideas about streaming platforms and cinemas, utilizing terms like 'binge watching', 'technology driven world', and 'OTT platforms'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'mlost people', 'infront of', 'discuss regarding', and 'cinemas more attracted' instead of 'more attractive'. Spelling and form errors like 'theathers' and 'que' further restrict the lexical score. While the student attempts less common vocabulary, the frequency of lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing prevents the response from reaching a higher band, reflecting a solid Band 5.5 level of control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is a weak point. There are frequent errors in verb tense, agreement, and punctuation. For instance, the writer states 'in this new era binge watching became common' instead of the present perfect 'has become', and 'many things has been changed' instead of 'have changed'. Run-on sentences dominate the writing, particularly in the opening and closing paragraphs, which consist of single, massive, comma-spliced sentences lacking proper terminal punctuation. Although communication is not entirely impeded, the high frequency of grammatical errors and lack of error-free complex sentences restricts the score to a Band 5.0.

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.