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)

It is often argued that going to cinemas and theatres in this modern and advanced age are no longer significant, however others believe that watching movies on theatres can be both economically and culturally beneficial. I believe that, although we can watch movies on our mobile phones and in our flexible time, going to cinema hall can give a different type of experience and it can also increase emotional attachment with your love ones.

As we know that this is the era of advancement in technology. People can watch their desired movies and series in home. Going to cinemas are outdated nowadays due to the busy life of people. People can use different types of platforms like Netflix or prime videos where they can pay certain amount and enjoy watching movies in their own mobile phones or personal computers. As a result, people can watch different and up to date movies in their flexible time. For example, I have taken a monthly subscription in Netflix and I can watch movies at anytime. I can watch movies of different genres and those which are newly launched in my flexible time.

On the other hand, watching films in cinemas can increase emotional attachment with their loved ones and also can experience realistic scenario with 3D animation. This is because most of the film halls use advanced display and people often go to feel that experience with their loved ones. This will increase connection and belongingness. Additionally, watching movies in cinemas can also reflect cultural significant. This is because people choose theaters to celebrate festivals. As a result, we can spend quality of time by creating memories and good relationship with our loved ones. For instance, there is a trend in Nepal that people often go to cinema halls with their family members during dashain festival. This reflect as a sense of celebrating festivals.

In conclusion, I believe that although we can watch newly released movies in our smartphone, visiting cinema halls with your loved ones can increase your bonding and you can also create memories by experiencing advanced animation system.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The candidate addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the decline of theatres due to online streaming and their ongoing economic and cultural importance. A clear personal position is presented in the introduction and maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are generally relevant, though some supporting details lean heavily on personal anecdotes rather than broader socio-economic analysis. For instance, the discussion of the Dashain festival in Nepal is a relevant specific example that supports the cultural aspect. However, the first body paragraph tends to over-generalise regarding the ease of mobile streaming without fully weighing the economic impacts mentioned in the prompt. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, earning a band score of 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments (online convenience versus in-person cultural and emotional experiences). However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'As a result' and 'This is because'. Referencing is occasionally slightly confusing, such as pronoun shifts between singular and plural forms when referring to groups of people ('with their loved ones and also can experience'). Progression is generally evident, but the logical links between sentences could be smoother to reach a higher band. This performance aligns with a band score of 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'emotional attachment', 'belongingness', and 'genres'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. Examples include 'watching movies on theatres' instead of 'in cinemas', 'in home' instead of 'at home', 'cultural significant' instead of 'cultural significance', and 'spend quality of time' instead of 'spend quality time'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a 5.5, reflecting a mix of appropriate everyday terms and flawed lexical choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some capability with subordinate clauses ('Although we can watch newly released movies...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('going to cinemas and theatres... are no longer significant'), missing articles ('going to cinema hall', 'in mobile phones'), and preposition misuse ('in Netflix' instead of 'on Netflix'). Complex structures often contain minor faults, and punctuation is sometimes basic. Although meaning remains mostly clear despite these slips, the density of grammatical errors prevents the score from reaching a 6.0, placing it firmly at 5.5.

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