Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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)

Nowadays, several people argue that in the digital era, theatres and ciinemas are no longer significant as people can watch all the enetrtaining stuff online. However, others say that theaters and cinemas are still crucial in the terms of economics and cultural. From my perspective, the theaters and cinemas are still significant both economically and culturally.

Firstly, there is no doubt that digital medium give access to the public watch online any kind of entertainment they want but, still it does not decrease the importance of theaters and cinemas as peole still like to watch shows in theaters and movies in cinemas.

Following this, friends and families plan their get-togethers they prefer to go outside for some entertainment and for this they go to the theaters and cinemas together and enjoy a lot. Also, it is kind of joy for cuoples to watch movies in cinemas or watch shows in theaters.

Furthermore, when movie on air in popular cinemas or theaters can attract visitors and increase speding in an area. Also, the film industries grow and contributes in government revenue throgh taxes and buisness related fees. Cinemas and theaters provide the jobs for ticket sellers, managers, cleaners, security staff and tecnicians etc as well. Food buisness in these areas grow as well.

It is concluded that the entertainment in digital age is easy to access by watching online but still public like to visit theaters and cinemas for entertainment and also theaters and cinemas are significant both economically and culturally

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that theatres and cinemas are no longer important due to online entertainment, and that they remain economically and culturally significant—while also presenting a clear personal position in the introduction and conclusion. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the points regarding economic impact, such as government revenue and job creation, are mentioned rather than fully extended with specific explanations or examples. To move to a higher band, the writer would need to fully develop their main ideas by providing more detailed supporting arguments and concrete examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates some organization with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, giving it a coherent overall arrangement. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression between sentences and paragraphs, making the flow somewhat mechanical. Cohesive devices are occasionally used, such as 'Firstly', 'Following this', and 'Furthermore', but referencing is sometimes unclear, as seen in the rather abrupt transitions between ideas in the third and fourth body paragraphs. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks smooth logical linking. To achieve a higher band, the writer should ensure clearer progression of ideas throughout the text and use cohesive devices more naturally and accurately.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'economically and culturally' and 'government revenue'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, including spelling mistakes like 'ciinemas', 'enetrtaining', 'cuoples', 'tecnicians', and 'buisness', alongside awkward phrasing like 'in the terms of economics and cultural' and 'when movie on air'. These errors and spelling slips cause some distraction for the reader. To reach the next band, the writer needs to expand their lexical range, improve word choice and collocation precision, and eliminate spelling inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms that are often faulty, such as 'when movie on air in popular cinemas or theaters can attract visitors'. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and awkward verb forms, such as 'digital medium give access', 'watch online any kind', and 'provide the jobs'. While meaning is generally recoverable, these frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader. To progress to a higher band, the writer must demonstrate greater control over complex sentence structures and significantly reduce the frequency of grammatical mistakes.

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.