Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28
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In today's digital era, the place of cinemas and theatres have been replaced by mobile phones and internet. Some people argue that this advancement is beneficial,others contented that cinemas and theatres are significant for cultural and economic development. However, I strongly beleived that the advancement of technology has positive influence as it offers more convenience and is much more affordable.
To begin with, one of the primary reasons for this is that it offers more amenity. As the advancement occurs with the invention of mobile phones and internet we can watch movies or listen to music anywhere and at anytime. On the other hand, cinemas and theatres do not offer these comforts. This shows that it has positive effect on people lives. For example, In Pakistan about 90% of the youth prefer to use smartphones to watch movies in their free time rather than visting cinemas.
Furthermore, using online videos to utilize free time instead of theatres is extremly cheaper. We can watch hundreds of movies and listen to million types of music like pop music or kpop music or watch many online videos in only one package of internet. With friends we can watch any type of film or videos at anytime wihtout much struggle. On the contrary, for visting cinemas we need to have fair and each movie type has its own price of ticket which maybe very expensive and can disturb budget. To illustrates, In America most individuals watch movie at their home as it maintain their budget and is less expensive than cinemas.
In conclusion, although visting theaters have its own benefits but the adavntages provided by internet outweigh theses merits as watching videos online provides more ease and play a crucial role in maintaining budget.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the view that cinemas are no longer important due to online entertainment and the counter-argument regarding their cultural and economic value. A clear personal opinion is stated in the introduction, maintaining that digital advancements are more positive due to convenience and affordability. Ideas are extended with examples, such as reference to youth in Pakistan preferring smartphones and individuals in America watching movies at home. However, some arguments lack deeper elaboration and tend to over-generalise. For instance, the claim that 'in Pakistan about 90% of the youth prefer to use smartphones' lacks specific nuance regarding theatrical releases, but the overall task is appropriately addressed, aligning well with Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs supporting the writer's view, and a brief conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. While basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore' are present, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'This shows that it has positive effect on people lives' where the antecedent of 'it' is ambiguous. Additionally, transitions between sentences can feel abrupt, and repetition of linking phrases limits the sophistication of the flow, placing the response firmly at Band 6.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common vocabulary items such as 'advancement', 'convenience', 'affordable', and 'economic development'. However, there are notable word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'contended' instead of 'contend', 'beleived' instead of 'believed', 'amenity' instead of 'convenience', 'extremly' instead of 'extremely', 'wihtout' instead of 'without', 'visting' instead of 'visiting', and 'adavntages' instead of 'advantages'. While these errors are frequent, they do not impede overall communication, matching the Band 5 to Band 6 profile, though the adequate coverage of topic-specific vocabulary leans toward a Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and subordinate clauses ('As the advancement occurs with the invention of mobile phones and internet we can watch movies...'). However, there is a lack of control over grammatical accuracy. Errors occur frequently, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the place of cinemas and theatres have been replaced'), missing articles ('watch movie at their home'), incorrect verb forms ('watching videos online provides... and play'), and punctuation errors. These errors occasionally cause slight strain for the reader, but meaning remains largely decipherable, which is characteristic of Band 5 grammar performance.
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