Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-21

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 6.5)

Theatres and cinemas have always been a great source of entertainment. As of now, watching movies or shows online is also a preferred by many individuals, depending on their personal preferences and liking.

In theatres people get to experience live art performances by skilled performers like actors and musicians that is felt by the audience in that environment. As this art display promotes performance art and supports live actors, musicians and other performers in their career that will face a downfall if they do not get enough viewers. Furthermore, cinemas have always been a favourite hangout spot for many people where they can experience a movie with friends or family, that has interactive sound effects, and a 3D or 4D experience. By completely switching to online entertainment will not provide this live experience, also it will effect the sense of community that theatres and cinema provide. The experience of watching live art and experiencing the feel of movie scenes while watching them is a memorable experience that can not be provided at home through a phone, laptop or a TV screen.

As online form of entertainment is now preferred by many individuals now because of the convenience of watching their favourite dramas and movies anytime or anywhere. As this change has significantly reduced the publics’ attention from live forms of entertainment. People say that cinemas are comparatively more expensive than getting a subscription that provides many movies and shows they can watch according to their schedule without the hassle of going out and watching a long movie. People have also commented that watching movies online gives them a more comfortable experience at home that they can choose any movie of their liking, and theatre plays are also available online so they do not have to purchase the ticket and spend extra money.

I believe that both, online and live entertainment like cinemas and theatres are important for our society and they both should be promoted accordingly. As theatres connect people through performance art and cinemas add a physical experience to a movie, whereas online entertainment platforms provide convenience and comfort. I would suggest theatre performances should be promoted online so that they get a worldwide views and audience from different areas who will promote their art as they won’t be confined to a place with limited audience. Whereas, movies should first be launched in cinemas then later on the online platforms so that they can be promoted as well. The goal should be to adapt with the change that promotes art and keeps it alive.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—the declining importance of physical theatres and cinemas versus their ongoing economic and cultural relevance—and clearly states an opinion in the conclusion. The ideas are generally relevant and extended, such as mentioning live art performances, community sense, and digital convenience. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise slightly or remain slightly under-developed, particularly regarding how digital platforms could collaborate with live performances. The position is maintained clearly throughout the response. Therefore, this performance meets the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0, and a Band 6.5 is awarded as some ideas could be explored with greater depth and precision.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the arguments for physical venues, the arguments for online platforms, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Furthermore', 'As this change', and 'Whereas', although some referencing and transitions are occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, such as starting multiple sentences with 'As this...'. Despite these minor flaws in cohesion, the flow of information remains easy to follow throughout, fitting the Band 7 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and collocations such as 'interactive sound effects', 'performance art', and 'worldwide views'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as writing 'watching movies or shows online is also a preferred by many individuals' instead of 'preferred by', and using 'effect' instead of 'affect' in 'it will effect the sense of community'. These minor lexical errors do not impede communication, placing the writing firmly in the Band 6 territory.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over relative clauses and participial phrases. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several sentence fragments or run-on structures, such as starting clauses with 'As this art display promotes...' or 'As online form of entertainment is now preferred...', which result in incomplete dependent-clause structures. Punctuation and minor structural errors occasionally disrupt the flow, though they rarely impede overall comprehension. This balance of mixed structures and frequent minor errors corresponds to a Band 6 score.

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