Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

In the modern era, many people are not interested to watch movies at theatre anymore because they are preferring online platforms to watch. However, others believe cinema is still a great choice with reasonable budgets, and traditionally. I will discuss both the views with an example in the below paragraph, and also, I will give a opinion at the end of discussion.

Initially, when online platforms were introduced around the world, it became popular in short amount of period because of its advantages. Also, this is one of a reason why people do not go at cinema hall to watch movies. One of the first reason is that online platforms are widely available to all, as a result people can watch other countries films, stories in their home remotely without any travel. Secondly, these platforms are giving heavy discounts, and cheaper subscriptions. which is less than a single time use cinema movie ticket. Thus, individuals can afford subscriptions easily. Moreover, cinema halls are often expensive than normal food stalls, while some online platforms gives discounted food coupens in add on payments. Eventually, it attracts the more people to buy an online platform.

On the other hand, many people believes that cinema hall is still important. At some point its true because in some cases. for example, theatre is the best place for watching 3D movies, because it does gives authentic effect of the movie with great sound effects. Whereas elder people are still choosing traditional cinema hall over online platform, as because they were already adapted when prices were more economical than now. For example, in 90s tickets and food prices were low, so public can afford that, and its gone well in the past.

To conclude, after discussing about both the views with examples, I will take a side of people who watches movies online, because it is remotely available with many small benefits and its less expensive. While cinema hall can be a great choice, if people wanted to watch 3d movies or in some rural areas tiny theathres are also available with low price tickets, sticking with the old cultural traditions to watch movies.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state a clear preference for online viewing in the conclusion. The points about convenience, access to international films, subscription costs, and the cinema experience are relevant to the question. However, the discussion focuses mainly on cost and convenience, while the prompt also asks about theatres’ and cinemas’ economic and cultural importance. Those aspects are only touched on through references to jobs or traditions, without explanation or examples. Some support is also unclear: the point about older people choosing cinemas because they were cheaper in the past does not fully explain why they remain important today. Develop each side more evenly and connect examples directly to the task’s economic and cultural dimensions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that restates your position. Sequencing words such as “Initially,” “Secondly,” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the main progression. However, some linking is mechanical or awkward, and a few connections are unclear. For example, “Moreover” introduces cinema food prices, but the comparison with online discounts is difficult to follow. The opening promises an opinion “at the end of discussion,” which is unnecessary, and the conclusion combines several points in a long sentence. Use clearer topic sentences and make each paragraph develop one central idea, with references such as “these platforms” or “this experience” clearly tied to their antecedents.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “online platforms,” “subscriptions,” “3D movies,” and “sound effects.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “authentic effect,” though the collocation is not natural in this context. Noticeable word-choice and spelling problems sometimes make the meaning less clear: “reasonable budgets” does not express that cinema is affordable, “single time use cinema movie ticket” is awkward, and “coupens” and “theathres” are misspelled. Repetition of “online platforms,” “cinema hall,” and “people” also limits flexibility. Build a more precise range of collocations for affordability, accessibility, and cultural value, and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “as a result,” and “while.” This gives the response some variety, but control is inconsistent, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries are frequent enough to affect readability. Examples include “many people believes,” “platforms gives,” and “it became popular in short amount of period.” The fragment “which is less than a single time use cinema movie ticket” should be joined to a complete sentence, while “because in some cases. for example” has faulty punctuation. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and article use, and make sure each sentence has a complete main clause before adding complex structures.

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