Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04
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)
Several people say that theatres and cinemas have no importance in the new era as people can watch all the entertaiment they want online. And some people argue that theatres and cinemas still play an important role for culture and economics of a country.
First of all, the people are not much keen of going to cinemas or theatres nowadays because of the busy working schedule in their lives. Moreover, instead of going to cinemas, people use Over-the-top (OTT) media services to enjoy that specif movie or show with comfort of their home. For instance, platforms such as Netflix and Amazon prime are much popular among people nowadays because you can entertain yourself at home with laptop, phones etc.
On the other hand, several people still believe that cinemas and theatres are important for film industry of a country because these help to picture and show our cultures to other nations. Furthermore, the funds gained through any particular film that is specifically released in theatres could help in providing economics stability to the industry of coutry. For example, Odyyessus movie that is specifally released in IMAX thaeatres, that helps in fund raising and econmic stability of country that have these theatres.
In my opinion, watching movie in cinemas is not a great option these days as OTT services are working very intensively for providing the great entertainment at home. While, cinemas still play a key role for some users that are full in love with the theatres entertainment.
In conclusion, both views are right on their side. There is still entermainment that you can not feel at home but also most of the online shows you can watch online at home.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on the importance of theatres and cinemas versus online streaming, and includes an opinion. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat limited and under-developed. For example, the argument regarding cultural preservation is briefly mentioned with phrases like 'picture and show our cultures to other nations' but lacks sufficient extension or specific explanation. The example provided of a fictional movie ('Odyyessus') is weak and vague, which prevents the response from moving to a higher level. Your position is generally clear throughout the text, but the supporting arguments require greater depth and more precise examples to fully satisfy the requirements of a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas, such as the advantages of streaming services versus the cultural and economic importance of cinemas. However, cohesion at times feels mechanical or faulty. Devices like 'First of all', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand' are employed to sequence information, but referencing and transitions can be repetitive or awkward, such as the abrupt shift in the final paragraphs. To achieve a higher level, cohesive devices should be used more flexibly and the logical progression between sentences within paragraphs needs to be smoother.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing a sufficient range to discuss entertainment and economics. You attempt some less common items such as 'Over-the-top (OTT) media services' and 'economic stability', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form. For instance, spelling errors like 'entertaiment' and 'coutry', alongside awkward collocations such as 'full in love' instead of 'fall in love', detract from the quality of the writing. These lexical errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the response. To improve, you should focus on precision in word choice, correct spelling, and natural collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple forms alongside attempts at complex sentences that are frequently faulty. There are recurrent errors in articles, prepositions, and plurals, such as 'theatres and cinemas have no importance in the new era', 'specif movie', and 'watching movie in cinemas'. Additionally, structural awkwardness appears in sentences like 'platforms such as Netflix and Amazon prime are much popular among people nowadays because you can entertain yourself at home with laptop, phones etc.' While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, the frequent presence of grammatical slips prevents the text from achieving a higher mark. Working on complex sentence accuracy and article usage will strengthen your control.
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