Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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)

Some people say that in the technology age, theatres and cinemas are no longer neccessary as individuals' can still stream all the entertainment they want online. Some are of the opinion that theatres and cinemas are still important both economically and culturally, but i'm of the argument that watching a movie at the cinemas is still very important.

As someone whose hobbies is watching movies, i still look foward to going to the cinema to watch a movie.

and this isn't because i can't stream the movie from my laptop or my phone, it's because there is something quite different about going to the cinema to see a movie.

When i go to the cinema, i'm definately going with someone because i see it as a fun activity my friend and i can engage in. The experience the cinema gives you, my laptop can't give me, which includes having a very wide screen, the HD quality and performance of the movie which makes me enjoy the movie more, and also bond with my friend properly. Furthermore, there are some movies people just look forward to seeing in the cinema every year. For example, in Nigeria Funke Akindele always puts a movie at the theatres every year during the festive period and people are always looking foward to it because the see it as a bonding activity with family friends or team members.

But then i understand why people might think it's not important to go see a movie at the cinema any more. Because most of the movie that are being shown at the cinema it's most likely going to be available on streaming platforms, some people might also be thinking about the expenses needed to watch a movie at the theatres which might cause a fortune for them.

In conclusion, i think people shouldn't forget about how important and great watching movie at the cinema is, and they should try to have an experience on it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the view that theatres and cinemas are no longer important due to online streaming and the counter-argument regarding their economic and cultural significance. A personal position is presented right from the beginning and maintained throughout the essay. However, some ideas are under-developed. For instance, the economic and cultural aspects mentioned in the prompt are only touched upon briefly through a single example about a Nigerian filmmaker, Funke Akindele, while other points rely heavily on personal preference and general observations rather than deeper elaboration. To reach a higher level, the ideas need to be more fully extended and supported with broader arguments concerning industry economics and societal culture.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a coherent overall arrangement to the essay, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing different perspectives, and a conclusion. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by mechanical or faulty cohesion, and referencing is not always clear. For example, the sentence beginning with "And this isn't because..." starts a new line awkwardly and creates a fragmented paragraph structure. While some cohesive devices like "Furthermore" and "In conclusion" are used to signal shifts, the transitions between paragraphs can be abrupt. To improve, the writer needs to ensure smoother logical links between sentences and paragraphs, avoiding fragmented structures and maintaining a more consistent flow throughout the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts and personal opinions. There are, however, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from precision, such as "technology age" instead of "digital age", "neccessary" with a spelling error, and "definitely" misspelled as "definately". Furthermore, phrases like "cause a fortune for them" are slightly unnatural collocations. The writer attempts less common vocabulary, but these lexical inaccuracies indicate a limited flexibility. To progress to the next band, the student should expand their range of more sophisticated terms and focus on precise word choices, correct collocations, and accurate spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at subordination and relative clauses. Nevertheless, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues that occasionally cause difficulty or distract the reader. Examples include pronoun-antecedent agreement issues such as "most of the movie that are being shown... it's most likely going to be", incorrect capitalization of the personal pronoun "i", missing apostrophes in plurals like "movie", and awkward prepositional phrases such as "have an experience on it". The control over complex structures is inconsistent, leading to faulty phrasing. To achieve a higher score, the writer must improve punctuation discipline, ensure subject-verb agreement, and refine the execution of complex sentence structures.

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