Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-19

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In the future nobody will buy printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read everything they want online without paying. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In the future nobody will buy printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read everything they want digitally without any kind of charges because some websites offer all kind of knowledge for free of cost.

One of the major advantage of reading the the books and newspapers is that we do not need to pay for it because some books are very expensive to buy then it will create a serios problem for the people who have intrested in the that knowledge but they do not have enough budget to buy those books.there is a famous book, "Codex leicester" it is very expense and related to the scientific knowledge so everybody can not buy it. Secondly, sometimes we want to travel or visits some locations in which we could not able to carry the book then we can read it if we have in our phone or in our laptop.

On the other hand, it also have some disadvantages. reading any kind of book or the newspaper demands our focus and if we are reading books online then there are chances of distractions. We can distract suddenly by notifications on so we can miss the important point while reading so this was one of the major disadvantage. Secondly, some people have eye sight issues, so reading constantly online will be problem for those and they can not stay concentration for long time.

In conclusions, reading books and newspapers online is best way rather then printed form because it is budget friendly and offers more advantages then reading physically.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether printed materials will be replaced by free online content. The writer takes a clear position, agreeing with the statement, and supports it with arguments related to cost savings and portability, as well as acknowledging counter-arguments regarding distractions and eye strain. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive in places. For instance, the discussion on cost uses simplistic reasoning, and the example provided ("Codex leicester") is somewhat awkwardly integrated and misspelled. Furthermore, the first paragraph merely restates the prompt without adding substantial new framing. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 5.5 to 6.0, as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though some areas remain under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a basic overall arrangement with clear paragraph breaks separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, progression is frequently hindered by mechanical or faulty cohesion. Transitional phrases such as "One of the major advantage" and "On the other hand, it also have some disadvantages" are used, but grammatical errors within these devices disrupt the flow. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and sentences within paragraphs are often strung together with commas rather than appropriate conjunctions or full stops, resulting in run-on structures. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion requires better management. Therefore, the coherence and cohesion of the response aligns with Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic ideas about reading online versus print. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as "budget friendly," "distractions," and "scientific knowledge." However, there are numerous lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as "free of cost" instead of "free of charge," "serios problem" (serious), "intrested" (interested), and "expense" instead of "expensive." Spelling and word-formation errors occur throughout the text (e.g., "conclusions" instead of "conclusion"). Because the errors occasionally distract the reader while communication remains intact, the lexical resource score is Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in verb agreement, tense, and article usage, such as "One of the major advantage" instead of "advantages," "the books and newspapers" with an unnecessary definite article, and "everybody can not buy it" instead of "cannot." Punctuation is also problematic, notably the excessive use of comma splices to connect independent clauses, such as in the first and second paragraphs. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of grammatical errors prevents the text from achieving a higher band, placing it solidly at Band 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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