Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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)

It is often agrued that, movie theatres and cinemas are no longer important as people can watch all the movies or series online, while others argue that theatres play an important role in society, both economically and culturally. Both these views will be discussed in this essay.

On the one hand, cinema halls provide a greater experience to the users. People can enjoy watching movies and series on the big screens with their friends or family members. They can create more memories together. Subsequently, theatres and cinemas plays an vital role in contributing to the economy of the country. Similarly, users have to pay for a ticket, by which they generate revenues and pay taxes to the government. Ultimately, it also result in creating jobs for the unemployement person. Cinemas play an significant cultural role by allowing people to learn about different cultures, traditions and social values through films. For instance, a cinema hall in a city like Jalandhar can attract thousands of customers every day, which helps the owners generate more revenus, pay taxes to the government and employ workers such as ticket sellers or cleaners by providing them a satble income. Spirtuality movies like hanuman ansh gives information about the history of lord hanuman to the users.

On the other hand, visitng cinemas may be expensive, as people have to pay for tickets and may also spend extra money on food and drinks. This can put a financial burden on people with limited incomes, who can enjoy same movies at home in a much lower cost. For examples- by using platforms like netflix or prime videos, they provide a wide range of movies and series, so that people can enjoy watching it in lower cost.

In my opinnion, watching movies in the theatres is not a bad thing, it vary to the person. They should strike a balance between watching in home and conemas.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both perspectives: the benefits of cinemas, including shared viewing, employment, tax revenue and cultural learning, and the lower cost and convenience of streaming. The Jalandhar example and reference to films about Hanuman help make the cultural and economic points more concrete. However, the discussion is uneven: the case for online entertainment is brief, and the conclusion that people should “strike a balance” does not clearly explain which view you support or why. Some claims, such as cinemas attracting “thousands of customers every day,” would be stronger with clearer relevance or explanation. Develop both sides more evenly and state a definite, reasoned opinion in the conclusion. (13 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs beginning “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a concluding opinion. This makes the two sides easy to identify. However, progression within the first body paragraph is not always clear: the discussion moves from the viewing experience to revenue, jobs and cultural learning, then returns to a local example and spirituality. Some linking expressions, including “Subsequently,” “Similarly” and “Ultimately,” feel mechanical or do not show the precise relationship between ideas. The final paragraph is also very short and does not fully draw the discussion together. Group related points, use clearer references between claims and examples, and make the conclusion follow directly from the arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “financial burden,” “generate revenues,” “cultural role,” “traditions” and “social values.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the reader can generally understand your meaning. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “agrued,” “unemployement,” “revenus,” “satble” and “Spirtuality.” Some expressions are also awkward or repetitive, including “watching movies and series” and “enjoy watching it in lower cost.” Aim to check spelling carefully and learn natural collocations for discussing costs, audiences and employment. More precise vocabulary would make the economic and cultural arguments clearer without relying on repeated general terms such as “important” and “people.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “people with limited incomes, who can enjoy same movies at home” and a purpose/result construction with “so that people can enjoy watching it.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction occur often enough to make the writing less controlled. For example, “theatres and cinemas plays” should use a plural verb, “an vital role” needs the correct article, and “it also result” has a subject–verb agreement error. The final sentence, “it vary to the person,” is also grammatically unclear. Practise checking each sentence for its subject and verb, article use, and complete, natural clause structure.

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