Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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 argue that in this modern age the concept of cinemas and theatres are no longer cruical as they can watch all the entertainment they want online. Others think that theatres and cinemas are still beneficial both economically and culturally. I personally believe that cinemas and theatres are still vital as they play a significant role in generating revenue while entertaining poeple. This topic however, requires further discussion.

To begin with, theatres and cinemas are still quite important due to their roles in generating revenue from the public and providing entertainment at the same time. To elaborate, a country can earn from building cinemas and theatres by charging people money for the experience they are providing, as it is much better to simply watch movies at home, as there could hurdles like slow internet or distractions from members living in the house. As a result, people buying tickets turn into revenue for the country and job opportunities for the people working at those entertainment houses.

On the other hand, some argue that due to the introduction of technology like smartphones and laptops people can watch all the entertainment at home rather than going out to watch it. For instance, they can just buy a subscription of a digital platform and watch any movie they want just by sitting in their bed without having to physically go and buy tickets. As an outcome, cineams and theatres remain empty and generate very little to no income.

To conclude, I strongly believe that cinemas and theatres are still important as it is a way to bring people closer and provide them entertainment on big screens, in return revenue is generated as well as jobs are created for those who wish to work at these entertainment places.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear opinion that cinemas and theatres remain important, and you include relevant points about revenue, employment and the convenience of online viewing. However, the discussion is uneven: the case for physical venues is developed more than the opposing view, which mainly explains that subscriptions let people watch films at home and may leave venues empty. The cultural importance named in the prompt is not really explored, despite your conclusion that venues bring people closer. The claim that ticket revenue is earned “for the country” also needs clearer explanation or support. To strengthen the response, develop both sides with specific examples and explain how shared experiences or cultural events benefit communities. (The response meets the stated length requirement; nine words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. This makes the overall direction easy to follow, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” help identify each stage. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and links between claims are not always clear. For example, the first body paragraph moves from the experience of watching at home to internet problems and then to national revenue without fully explaining the connections. The conclusion repeats the opening position rather than drawing together the two sides. Use clearer cause-and-effect links and develop each paragraph around one main point with supporting explanation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “generating revenue,” “job opportunities,” “digital platform,” and “subscription.” There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “significant role” and “culturally.” However, some wording is imprecise or repetitive, particularly repeated references to “important,” “entertainment,” and “people.” Several spelling errors—“cruical,” “poeple,” and “cineams”—also reduce accuracy. Some collocations are awkward, such as “buy a subscription” and “entertainment houses.” Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling carefully; a wider range of natural topic vocabulary would make the discussion clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, and most of the meaning remains clear. For example, the sentence beginning “For instance, they can just buy a subscription…” uses a subordinate clause effectively, while the body paragraphs include cause-and-effect structures. Some grammatical errors remain. In the opening, “the concept of cinemas and theatres are” has a subject–verb agreement problem; “the concept” takes “is,” or the sentence could be recast with a plural subject. The phrase “as there could hurdles” is missing “be,” and “it is a way to bring people closer and provide them entertainment” has unclear agreement and parallel structure. Punctuation around “This topic however” also needs attention. Review agreement, missing verbs and sentence boundaries.

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