Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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)

It is argued that an increasing number of individuals believe theatres and cinemas are not significant because of technological advancement. While many finds it crucial for global economical growth and cultural values, I personally believe that in-theatre experience would give meaningful changes to the society.

There are number of reasons why individual prefer enjoying the entertainment online. One possible reason is that it saves both time and cost-effective which are absolutely essential things in public's life. For instance, whenever we plan to watch a movie with our beloved one's, we have to maintain a timeframe as well as buy tickets which can be frustrating sometimes if we don't get the tickets. Besides, one can easily watch the program free of cost in Youtube or Facebook live. Another reason is that many devices can give the similar experience like cinema hall. For example, using the VR devices can deliver 3D printed scenes that feels like watching in the theatre.

Despite the above arguments, entertainment organisations helps the country to create a ripple effect accross economical growth. Firstly, government can get the global earnings if promote the cinemas to overseas. For instance, internationally released movies earns almost billion dollars in recent days. Secondly, in-theatre experience with beloved one's create memories and can be more relaxing at the same time. Furthermore, sharing valueable time with families and friends are quite refreshing as well as eye-catching which can be created by on-spot experience. Finally, one can interact with other person and learn new languages as well as their cultures which can lead us to meaningful changes in our thoughts.

In conclusion, although digital platforms are providing much easier and convenient advantages, experiencing in person activity provides much insightful meaning towards society. Therefore, I strongly argue everyone should get the spark of theatre experience with their loved one's.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the decline of theatres due to online entertainment and their ongoing economic and cultural importance, while also clearly stating a personal opinion. Ideas are generally relevant, such as mentioning cost-effectiveness, VR technology, economic growth, and cultural exchange. However, some arguments are a bit under-developed or vague, such as '3D printed scenes' used in the context of VR, and the ideas in the third paragraph feel slightly bundled together rather than fully extended. The position is clear throughout, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four standard paragraphs with a clear overall logical progression. Cohesive devices are used throughout, such as 'While', 'For instance', 'Besides', 'Firstly', and 'In conclusion'. However, there are some mechanical or awkward transitions, like 'There are number of reasons why individual prefer' and 'entertainment organisations helps the country to create a ripple effect accross economical growth'. Referencing and pronoun use are generally clear, but paragraphing in the body could be more balanced, and some cohesive links feel slightly repetitive. Overall, this aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for the academic task, including terms like 'technological advancement', 'cost-effective', 'economic growth', and 'cultural exchange'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors, such as 'While many finds' (subject-verb agreement), 'saves both time and cost-effective' (faulty parallelism), and 'beloved one's' (incorrect form of plural possessive). Additionally, some word choices are unnatural, such as 'eye-catching' when describing shared time with family. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey meaning, these inaccuracies limit the score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and dependent clause forms (e.g., 'While many finds it crucial...', 'For instance, whenever we plan to watch a movie...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors in agreement and word forms, such as 'individual prefer', 'organisations helps', 'movies earns', and spelling errors like 'accross' and 'valueable'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips occur across most sentences, preventing the work from achieving a Band 7. It comfortably meets the criteria for Band 6.0 due to the mix of structures and lack of impeded comprehension.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.