Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

In recent years, the issue of digital reading has attracted considerable public and academic attention. While some people contend that read digital reading has a positive impact on pepole can save time and money others maintain that this can affect them negatively. This essay will examine both perspectives before presenting my own view.

On the one hand, critics of digital reading frequently point out a number of significant underlying causes A major reason for this is that peple read everything without paying resulting in book stationary sales very decrease as well as job lost chances books and newspaper distibutor For example, recent research has shown that they can read online anyone can't purchase books and nespaper Furthermore, A which makes this approach less sustainable in the long r

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is severely under-length, containing only 128 words against the required minimum of 250 words. This significantly impacts task achievement as the development of ideas is abruptly cut short and the essay remains incomplete. The writer attempts to address the prompt by stating an introduction and beginning the first body paragraph, but the arguments are not fully developed. Because the word count requirement is not met, the task cannot be fully satisfied, resulting in a low score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The essay demonstrates an attempt to structure a standard argumentative essay, including an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement and the beginning of a body paragraph. However, because the text cuts off mid-sentence ('...making this approach less sustainable in the long r'), the overall progression is incomplete. Cohesive devices such as 'While some people contend', 'On the one hand', and 'Furthermore' are introduced mechanically. Paragraphing is attempted, but the severe truncation prevents a fully coherent and logical arrangement of ideas throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The student attempts some academic vocabulary such as 'considerable public and academic attention' and 'sustainable'. However, there are numerous vocabulary and spelling errors, including 'pepole' for 'people', 'read digital reading', 'stationery sales' (instead of stationary or bookstore sales), and 'distibutor' for 'distributors'. The lexical range is limited and repetition occurs, such as 'read everything without paying'. Due to these errors and the incomplete nature of the response, the lexical resource is restricted.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response contains a mix of simple and emerging complex sentence structures, but it is heavily marred by grammatical inaccuracies and structural breaks. Examples of errors include 'read digital reading has a positive impact on pepole can save time' and missing punctuation marks before conjunctions. The text also cuts off entirely before completing the final sentence. While some simple clauses are understandable, frequent errors and the lack of a completed grammatical structure prevent the writer from achieving a higher band.

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

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