Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17
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 argued that some people says that digital age has covered and replaced the theatres and cinemas importance in this modern era. But some old age people argued that theatres and cinemas are still important both economically and culturally. I also believes that online watching all the entertainment activities is better as compare to see physically.
On the one hand, physically visiting the theatres and cinemas are more time taking activity, and also loss of money and social values. For example two years ago, I have chance to visit a cinema in lahore, It was a just official visit to lahore but my friends say, we don't have any experence before, so we want to visit cinema. First of all its ticket was more expensive as we accept, It cost around five thousands per person, and second bad thing is, at the enterence security person also collect over mobile phone for the security reason, which was a worst situation for us. It was more time taking, where we can see one drama in half hour, there we spent more than two hours on it. Both our sleep and peace of mind were disturbed.
On the other hand, If we prefer to watch it online, it can be prove more affordable and easy to watch. In august we visit northern areas of Pakistan, and when we sit in bus for journey, during journey, we purchase an online package and start it on TV screen of bus, and before ending our journey, we also watched the whole drama. It also saves our time and money, and we all friends enjoy drama serial together.
In conclusion, we believe that live theatres and cinemas reflects the culturally and economically effects, but in this modern and fast era, no one has enough time to go out side the city and watch drama and film.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that cinemas and theatres are no longer important due to digital entertainment, and that they remain economically and culturally significant. The student also presents a clear personal position, stating that online viewing is more convenient. However, the development of ideas leans heavily on personal, somewhat anecdotal examples, such as the visit to a cinema in Lahore or watching dramas on a bus journey in the northern areas, rather than broader societal analysis. This leads to a tendency to over-generalise and keeps the task response at Band 6.0, as some ideas are under-developed or narrow in scope.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is often faulty or mechanical, with awkward transitions like 'On the one hand, physically visiting the theatres...' and 'On the other hand, If we prefer to watch it online...'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and punctuation errors (such as comma splices like 'It was a just official visit to lahore but my friends say, we don't have any experence before') disrupt the logical flow. These issues place the response firmly at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The lexical resource is limited and displays noticeable errors. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'economically and culturally', 'affordable', and 'peace of mind', but frequent word choice and collocation errors occur, such as 'loss of money' instead of 'a waste of money', 'tickets was more expensive as we accept' instead of 'expected', and 'collect over mobile phone' instead of 'confiscate mobile phones'. Spelling errors also appear, including 'experence', 'enterence', and 'out side'. These vocabulary limitations and errors place this criterion at Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'some people says', 'live theatres and cinemas reflects'), tense consistency (switching awkwardly between past and present), and article usage. For instance, sentences like 'In august we visit northern areas of Pakistan, and when we sit in bus for journey, during journey, we purchase an online package...' contain multiple structural flaws and punctuation errors. While meaning is generally recoverable, the high density of grammatical errors prevents the response from achieving a higher score.
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