Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05
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 this era of digitalization, in the near future no one will buy printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read numerous news articles and stories online without paying. I partly agree with the statement that nobody will buy printed books or newspapers because everything will be available online for free.
On the one hand, the most prominent reason is it offers convenience. To explicate, mobile phones and tablets let people carry thousands of books and news articles anywhere. Secoundly, it is also cost-effective and it provides quick information. To elaborate, purchasing a books involves high cost whereas, there are numbers of online platform for the readers to read news and stories at a very low cost. Apart from this, online news updates are much faster that the printed one.
On the other hand, the principal reason of my disagreement is reading preference. To explain it in detail, many readers like to hold physical books and turning paper this might provides a deeper sense of satisfaction and focus for the readers. Another significant reason is,Staring at phones and tablets for too long is uncomfortable. To explian it in detail, staring at bright screens causes headaches, blurry vision, and digital fatigue. Physical books offer a healthy break from technology, making them a popular choice for relaxing at night.
In conclusion, though there are some points to disagree with such as eye strain and reading preference. There are some points to agree with such as it offers conveneince and also it is affordable .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response sits at this level because it addresses the task only partially. While you present a clear position that you partly agree with the statement, the length requirement is not met as your response contains 242 words, falling 8 words short of the 250-word minimum (excluding the 13 words copied from the prompt). Furthermore, your ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For example, when discussing why online news updates are faster than printed ones, you do not fully extend this point with specific examples or deep explanation. To move up to the next band, you need to ensure you meet the minimum word count and extend your supporting arguments much more fully throughout the body paragraphs.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
Your essay shows some basic organization with clear paragraph breaks separating your introduction, two body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and your cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'To explicate', 'To elaborate', and 'To explain it in detail'. Additionally, referencing becomes slightly faulty at the end where your conclusion contains sentence fragments like 'In conclusion, though there are some points to disagree with such as eye strain and reading preference. There are some points to agree with such as it offers conveneince and also it is affordable.' To achieve a higher band, you should integrate a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that your sentences flow smoothly without abrupt fragmentations.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
Your vocabulary range is limited but minimally adequate for the task. You attempt some less common vocabulary items such as 'cost-effective', 'digital fatigue', and 'digitalization', but there are noticeable lexical errors and misspellings like 'Secoundly', 'conveneince', 'purchasing a books', and 'numbers of online platform'. These errors occasionally draw attention, though they do not completely impede communication. To reach the next band, you need to use a wider range of vocabulary with greater precision, improve your control over word forms and collocations, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes through careful proofreading.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You demonstrate a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple and moderately complex forms. When you attempt more complex sentences, they are often faulty or punctuated incorrectly. For instance, you make errors with articles, plurals, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'online news updates are much faster that the printed one', 'turning paper this might provides', and 'reading preference. There are some points'. Frequent errors in grammar and punctuation cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve your grammar band, you need to use a wider variety of complex structures consistently and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical errors by checking your verb forms, prepositions, and punctuation carefully.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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