Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19
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)
Watching entertainment from cinemas or online has been a debatable issue. It is believed by some people that in the modern age theatres are not that much important as individuals can enjoy all the entertainment they want on internet. I shed some light on both sides along with my opinion for which vindication would be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs.
To commence with, there are many reasons associated within the favour of theatres and cinemas. The first and foremost is, bestest experience. The cinema holds the best experience of watching a movie. To explain, theatres provide us the best picture and sound quality. However, they hold out heritage of playing the historic films like The Titanic, Intersteller, Openhiemer and many more. Moreover, cinemas help us to socialize as we can meet more people watching same movie of our taste.
Moving further, there are numerous merits of watching entertainment online which cannot be neglacted. Online watching offers us a lot of wide range experience. To elaborate, we can watch movies from all around the world and we can also watch web series. Moreover, we can watch movies and shows from any languageand it is more cheap. Another significant merit is, time savvy as we can watch movies at our home or while travelling or in our flights.
In conclusion, after taking all the aspects in my consideration I would like to emphasize that watching movies online are more budget friendly but watching cinemas online holds our heritage and can give us best experience which we cannot get from any T.V. or anything.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| 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—the decline of physical cinemas in the digital age versus their ongoing economic and cultural importance—and provides a clear personal opinion. The student's position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, particularly in the body paragraphs where points like picture quality and socialization are stated rather than fully extended. For instance, mentioning that theatres hold a heritage is a good point, but it lacks specific expansion. Because all parts of the prompt are addressed and a position is clear, the performance aligns best with Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. Phrases like 'I shed some light on both sides' and 'To commence with' are formulaic, and the referencing and transitions between sentences can feel abrupt. For example, the transition 'Moving further' introduces the second viewpoint, but the progression within the paragraphs lacks smoother logical links. These features place the response firmly in Band 6.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey basic ideas about cinemas and online streaming. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, awkward collocations, and non-standard forms throughout the text. Examples include 'bestest experience', 'neglacted', 'languageand', and 'time savvy'. While the student attempts less common vocabulary like 'vindication' and 'budget friendly', the misuse of these terms and spelling errors indicate a limitation in lexical control. The range is sufficient to communicate meaning, but the frequency of errors restricts the score to Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors that occasionally impede fluency and cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of errors include 'theatres are not that much important', 'on internet' (missing article), 'theatres provide us the best picture' (preposition misuse), and 'watching movies online are more budget friendly' (subject-verb agreement error). Because errors are frequent across both simple and complex structures, the writing fits the Band 5 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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