Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The theatre type is no longer important because people use internet for entertainment. The watching online is less costly and people can enjoy with their family and are comfortable with them.

In the age of digital media, people prefer to spend their time to entertain themselves with their phones who are more comfortable with them so they see their films online rather than visit theatre. The main reason behind this is that people don’t want to waste their entertainment times because of someone else’s talks and other propaganda which was made by bad people in the night of entertainment. For example, a family go to the theatre for entertainment and suddenly two people stand in the middle of film and start fighting and abusing each other because of they were drunk. So these incidents ruined the show and also had bad effect on your children who were watching movies. So that’s why people prefer to watch it online where no one can interfere in their time of entertainment.

At some point, I think the other people are also right because the use of cinemas and theatre are our culture and people need to connect with their culture. But those black sheep who selling tickets in black to earn more money and those who drunk in the show ruined the show totally. So the people should away from those guys who do illegal things in cinema and theatre.

My close friend Ali and me went in cinema and suddenly a boy who was only 16 years old came and ask, “Do you need drugs?” We were shocked and we just go away. He did not need anything from us.

So I think the people should prefer to watch movies online rather than go to the cinema for the safety and to keep enjoying their family time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses both views required by the prompt, discussing the advantages of watching entertainment online and acknowledging the cultural importance of cinemas and theatres. However, the development of ideas is limited and sometimes tangential, relying heavily on anecdotal examples such as fights in theatres and encountering a drug dealer, rather than exploring broader economic and cultural aspects as outlined in the prompt. The student's own opinion is stated, but overall, the task is addressed only partially due to insufficient depth and extension in supporting arguments. This places the response comfortably at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is organized into paragraphs, though the logical progression is frequently disrupted by abrupt transitions and a disjointed flow of ideas. Cohesive devices are used minimally or repetitively, such as the frequent over-use of 'So' and 'And' to start sentences, as seen in 'So these incidents ruined the show' and 'So I think the people should prefer'. Paragraphing is attempted, but paragraph boundaries do not always align with logical thematic shifts, particularly in the middle sections where personal anecdotes are awkwardly integrated. Consequently, referencing is sometimes unclear, matching the characteristics of a Band 5.0 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, restricting the student's ability to express nuanced ideas. There are frequent word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'The theatre type', 'waste their entertainment times', 'those who drunk in the show', and 'Ali and me went in cinema'. Less common lexical items are attempted but usually result in awkward phrasing or grammatical mismatch. Although the meaning can mostly be decoded, the restricted range and noticeable errors place this criterion at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty. There are persistent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('go in cinema', 'visit theatre'), incorrect prepositions ('watched online', 'went in cinema'), subject-verb agreement issues ('people who was only 16 years old'), and tense inconsistencies. These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader, aligning with the Band 5.0 descriptors for grammatical range and accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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