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)

In this digital era, some people argue that cinemas and theatres are now becoming obsolete because people can enjoy watching all movies and dramas on the online platforms such as netfilx. Whereas, others believe that it should not be completety vanished as it support the econonic system of the country and holds a cultrual value too. For me, this is an understandable point of view and perhaps theatres and cinemas should not be complelety obsolete.

On the one hand, there is definelty a success in the digital paltforms with great benefits for the audience. The audience can watch movies, series or dramas on the various online stremaing platforms whenever they want. For instance, people can watch latest series or movies while travelling in train or a bus on the netflix without rushing to the cinemas early to buy the tickets before it sold out. They can enjoy the entertainment shows in their own bedroom or on a couch. Moreover, they can watch the same movie for as many times as they want.

On the other hand, the cinemas and theatres hold a cultural value along with the economical support. Watching a movie in a cinema gives a different kind of experience to the audience as compared to watching it on a mobile or on a laptops. In the context of experience; people can feel they are in a movie by watching it on big white curtain with great sound. Although the online streaming is quite comfortable, audience can not stream without the subscription which is costlier.

My own view is that, there should be a balance in between both entertainment pathways. People can repeatedly watch their favourite entertainment online. In addition, the cinemas and theatres the artists get paid for their hard work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on whether digital streaming makes cinemas obsolete and providing a personal opinion. The writer presents relevant arguments on both sides, such as the convenience of online platforms versus the cultural value and economic support provided by physical venues. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or briefly stated, particularly in the conclusion, which cuts off somewhat abruptly without fully synthesising the arguments. For instance, the mention that 'the artists get paid for their hard work' is incomplete and lacks adequate expansion. Despite these minor limitations, a clear position is maintained throughout the essay. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors, as all parts of the task are addressed with relevant ideas, though some extension and development are lacking in places.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, distinct body paragraphs addressing each side of the argument, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For example, the transitional phrase 'Whereas, others believe' is grammatically disjointed, and the referencing between ideas occasionally lacks smooth flow. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are employed to structure the response, but the logical progression between sentences within paragraphs could be tighter. There are also instances where punctuation affects the ease of reading. Overall, this demonstrates the characteristics of Band 6, where the arrangement is coherent and progression is generally apparent, but mechanical use of cohesive devices and occasional referencing flaws prevent a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'obsolete', 'convenient', and 'subscription'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'netfilx' instead of Netflix, 'completety' and 'complelety' for completely, 'econonic' for economic, 'cultrual' for cultural, 'definelty' for definitely, 'paltforms' for platforms, and 'stremaing' for streaming. Additionally, collocations are occasionally awkward, such as 'cinemas and theatres the artists get paid'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the vocabulary from reaching the Band 7 threshold. The lexical control is most consistent with Band 6, showing an adequate range and attempts at less common phrasing despite spelling and accuracy issues.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'Watching a movie in a cinema gives a different kind of experience to the audience as compared to watching it on a mobile or on a laptops.' There are several grammatical and mechanical errors present, including article misuse ('on a laptops', 'in train or a bus'), preposition errors, and fragment sentences ('In the context of experience; people can feel...'). Furthermore, the final sentence lacks grammatical completeness. Despite these frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments without major difficulty. This balanced mixture of structures and controlled error frequency fits comfortably into the Band 6 criteria.

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