Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-29

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)

I believe, people would like to read newspapers or books online than buy from shops. When considering reading online it has significant benefits to readers including cost effective, less time consuming, and eco-friendly.

1000 of newspapers is printed everyday. that has contained the specific date information mostly, the daily new papers are printed everyday with 1000 of copies which never been used after reading. Additionally, It doesn't go for recycling process. Most of our senior citizens kept storing them in cupboads for long years that causing breathing related issues due to the dust.

Reading online can be effective in several ways people can choose and read the inretested part of the paper or books according to their preference and save for later use. There are several websites, and apps have been designed for readers which is easily accessible and having various collections of books, and atricles.

However, the feelings of reading physically has an amazing description with a cup of coffee among the people. Most of the people appreciating reading as a coping strategy for healing from stress, depression, and anxiety. I don't think sit in front of a screen, and read a book give same feelings as we read with physical version.

In contract, online reading can be found with more advantages. But, still reading physically remains same with his potentials of keeping calm and let a person escaping from busy world. In future, there can be more customers for online platforms. But physical reading won't lose its importance. Finally, every readers who prefer physical reading should consider on recycling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether printed newspapers and books will be entirely replaced by free online reading, presenting a somewhat clear position. The student considers both the environmental and economic benefits of digital reading as well as the emotional and psychological value of physical books. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and lack deep extension. For instance, the discussion on environmental impacts and senior citizens storing old newspapers is rather anecdotal and underdeveloped. While all parts of the prompt are addressed, the arguments remain generalized and lack sophisticated support, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor where relevant ideas are presented but remain somewhat under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible progression of ideas, moving from the benefits of digital reading to the enduring appeal of physical books and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is attempted, though some paragraphs are disjointed, such as the sudden shift into sentence fragments and unlinked thoughts in the second paragraph (e.g., '1000 of newspapers is printed everyday. that has contained...'). Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or incorrectly, such as starting a sentence with 'In contract,' instead of 'In contrast,' and issues with referencing. Overall, the organization is clear enough to follow, but cohesion suffers from mechanical errors and awkward transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic arguments about digital versus physical reading. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary items such as 'eco-friendly', 'coping strategy', and 'accessible', but these are accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, form, and collocation, such as 'cost effective' used as an adjective phrase without hyphenation, 'inretested' (interested), 'atricles' (articles), and 'physical version' instead of 'physical copy'. Spelling and word-formation errors occur frequently enough (e.g., 'cupboads', 'everyday' instead of 'every day') to restrict the score, but they do not severely impede overall communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('people would like', 'every readers'), punctuation fragments ('1000 of newspapers is printed everyday. that has contained...'), and missing articles or prepositions ('sit in front of a screen, and read a book give same feelings'). Complex structures are often attempted but are marred by faulty phrasing (e.g., 'with his potentials of keeping calm and let a person escaping'). These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader, placing the response squarely at Band 5.

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

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