Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23

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)

There is ongoing debate going on, many individuals believe that there is no significant use of cinemas as they can watch the same content online. While others ague that it still plays an important role in shaping both economy and culture. This essay will discuss both sides and explain my opinion on going to theatres.

To start with, it is highly argued that individuals prefer to watch content online in this rapidly growing digital media age. This is because, popular sources of entertainment such as YouTube, Prime Video and Netflix are attracting the users to subscribe to watch the content, either paying for it or free of cost. Not only they are attracting the user by their cost-effective models, but they also provide cinema-like entertainment at home or anyplace. As a result, youngsters and working-professionals who want to save their money alongside their job and studies prefer options like online entertainment.

On the other hand, many people also argue that theatres and cinemas hold a perceptual value. It means that cinemas still work as a positive resource of entertainment, and it economically works in favor of the producers and directors. If films are being released in the cinemas, the movie-making team would certainly be in advantage. The benefit of casting a film offline than online may cross global countries worldwide if the budget of the film is fulfilled. Culturally, movies were seen as visiting to the cinema and spending a great time.

In my opinion, the practical idea of visiting to a theatre and having an one-kind of experience hits realistic than the very famous idea of watching it online.

In conclusion, although a lot of individuals are shifting toward online entertainment platforms because its cost-efficient and saves time, I believe that the evergreen notion of watching a film inside the theatre remains one of the best thing, economically and culturally.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—the decline of cinemas due to online streaming and their ongoing economic and cultural importance—while also clearly stating the writer's opinion. The introduction outlines the plan, and the body paragraphs explore both arguments adequately. However, some ideas lack deep extension and specific examples; for instance, the economic point about producers and directors is somewhat general and could have been supported with a concrete illustration. Despite these minor limitations, the position is clear throughout, and the main tenets of the prompt are satisfactorily covered, placing this response comfortably at Band 6.5 towards Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, using introductory, body, and concluding sections appropriately. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as 'To start with,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion.' However, some transitional phrases and referencing are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'many individuals believe that there is no significant use of cinemas as they can watch the same content online.' Furthermore, paragraphing is generally sound, but the fourth paragraph is extremely brief and functions more as an extra sentence rather than a fully developed supporting section. Progression is visible, though logical flow suffers occasionally from awkward phrasing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common items such as 'cost-effective models,' 'working-professionals,' and 'perceptual value.' However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. For example, 'ongoing debate going on' is redundant, 'ague' is misspelled for 'argue,' 'perceptual value' is misused in place of 'perceived value,' and 'hits realistic' is non-standard phrasing. Despite these lexical slips, communication is rarely impeded, and the range is sufficient to convey the intended arguments clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response incorporates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses (e.g., 'While others ague that it still plays an important role...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'There is ongoing debate going on,' 'Not only they are attracting the user' (subject-auxiliary inversion error), 'visiting to a theatre,' and 'having an one-kind of experience.' Punctuation and comma splices also detract from control, such as missing commas after introductory phrases. The frequency of these errors places the writing firmly at Band 6, as simple sentences tend to be more accurate while complex structures introduce noticeable flaws.

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