Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-22

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)

There is ongoing debate about public, that they will buy printed newspapers or books weather they should be able to read all the things online without spending money. From my perspective i strongly agree with that public will be read all the news and information online.

To begin with, it is clearly evident that now the world is changing rapidly and the era of new technologies is coming. There are several websites available for reading all knids of information, also there is a considerable numbers of news channels that provide news on a daily bases. However, today if anyone wants to check what is happening in the world you can get everything at just one click because now it is the time of social media and everything is going on social media. For instance, consider a person who wants to do their studies. there is no need to using physical books, he just opens his laptop and searches the website according to his needs and gets all the data about his studies.

On the other hand, there are some individuals who used to read books and newspapers. Mostly, those are our grandparents or elderly people because they have a habit for learning through books and they also enjoy to read the newspapers. In addition, our new generation is not friendly with physical reading because they have their own mobiles and now the schooling system changed, they prefer online studies rather than physical studies it is also saves the expense of travelling.

In conclusion,in my opinion i strongly agree with those who prefer to learn online instead of paying for books and newspapers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by taking a clear stance that printed books and newspapers will be completely replaced by free online reading in the future. The position is maintained throughout the essay. Main ideas are presented, such as the rise of technology and generational differences, but they tend to be somewhat general and lack deeper development. For example, the argument regarding the elderly population and their reading habits is introduced but not fully explored in relation to the broader economic or practical viability of free online content. While the task is addressed adequately and a clear conclusion is reached, the ideas require more rigorous extension and supporting examples to reach a higher band. Overall, the response meets the basic requirements of the task response criterion at a Band 6 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, such as technological advancements in the second paragraph and counter-trends among older generations in the third paragraph. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward transitions and mechanical cohesive devices. Phrases like 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are utilized, but internal cohesion within paragraphs feels disjointed at times. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in sentences where pronouns do not clearly anchor to their intended antecedents. Consequently, the flow of information suffers minor disruptions, making Band 6 the most accurate descriptor for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their general ideas about technology and reading habits. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'rapidly', 'considerable numbers', and 'generation', but these are accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and collocation. For instance, the student writes 'knids' instead of 'kinds', 'bases' instead of 'basis', and awkward phrasings like 'need to using'. Additionally, there is unnecessary repetition of basic words and phrases throughout the essay. While communication is not heavily impeded, these lexical limitations and errors restrict the score to Band 5.5, reflecting a mix of adequate and flawed vocabulary use.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. Examples include fragment sentences and run-on clauses, such as 'There is ongoing debate about public, that they will buy...' and '...preferred online studies rather than physical studies it is also saves...'. Subject-verb agreement errors and tense inconsistencies are also present, such as 'public will be read'. Although these errors do not completely obscure the intended meaning, they occur frequently enough to impede smooth reading. Because the errors persist across various sentence types, the performance aligns best with Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.