Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-02

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 coming years, people will no longer purchase printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read everything online free of charge. I strongly disagree with this statement because there are large number of readers prefer traditional paper based reading to digital reading,despite having to pay for the printed materials. Moreover, looking at screen for a long time has negative effect on eyes so health conscious people will always consider this side-effect.

Firstly, many individuals like paper-based traditional reading because they are comfortable with it. In addition, collecting printed books is a common hobby for a significant number of people even though it can be relatively expensive. For example, there are lots of top ranking universities in china which prefer printed books to keep alive the tradition. On the other hand, many learners from literature background collect printed books written by famous authors with high price. So inspite of easy access of newspapers or books with zero cost, numerous readers will choose printed books over the digital version.

Secondly, researchers have found that looking at screen for a long time may harm our eye-sight. People who are aware of such kind of affect will always avoid digital reading even if it costs no money. For instance, school going teenagers are always fond of novels and other literature but as digital devices may cause poor eye-sight in future, they will try to avoid it.

In the years ahead, people will stop buying printed newspapers or books because they will have free access through online. But there are lots of people still prefer buy printed books or newspaper even though it costs high amount of money because its a traditional way of reading and digital devices have harmful effect on our helalth. Thus this paper-based reading will not be demolish.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task by presenting a clear position of strong disagreement with the prompt. It covers both aspects required by the task: personal preference for physical reading and the health implications of digital screens. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the point regarding universities or literature enthusiasts collecting printed books in the second paragraph is underdeveloped and lacks sufficient elaboration. Similarly, the argument about eye strain is introduced with general examples like 'school going teenagers' but lacks depth. The response touches upon all parts of the prompt, but the ideas tend to reiterate the same core arguments without advancing the discussion significantly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, such as traditional reading habits in the second paragraph and health concerns in the third. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical and repetitive, particularly in the conclusion where previous sentences are restated almost verbatim. Cohesive devices are used, but they are occasionally repetitive or basic, such as the frequent reliance on 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'On the other hand'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of smooth transitions between sentences makes the overall flow somewhat disjointed at times.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing enough range to communicate simple and some less common ideas, such as 'health conscious people' and 'paper-based reading'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and form, such as 'looking at screen' instead of 'screens', 'literature background' instead of 'a literary background', 'with high price' instead of 'at a high price', and 'inspite of easy access of' instead of 'despite easy access to'. Spelling and word formation errors also appear, including 'inspite' and 'helalth'. These inaccuracies do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a moderate level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures with 'because', 'even though', and conditional clauses. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding missing articles ('large number of readers' should be 'a large number of readers', 'looking at screen' needs an article or plural form), preposition usage, and subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'lots of people still prefer buy' should be 'prefer to buy', and 'its a traditional way' needs an apostrophe in 'it's'). While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, they are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader and reveal inconsistent control over complex grammatical patterns.

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.