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)
This is a definite possibility that in the future people do not have to buy newspapers or books due to the uprising of social media and the internet being everywhere. I agree that people will soon read everything online, whether it is a book or newspaper.
In the past, not everybody had access to the internet, so newspapers and books were their only source of information. However, now it is hard to ignore the fact that in the future people will be reading both news and books online without paying a dime. The Internet has become so common and provides news and books that are usually not given by the newspapers or books that are banned in certain countries. Yet, they are still accessible through the internet.
Secondly, people will start thinking purely in terms of financial basis. Why should they pay for something that is accessible to them online and that too without a need to pay? For instance, many people used to read Dawn printed newspapers, but the same people just go on their website and read it online. The need for reading a printed newspaper and books has become an outdated idea. The digitalization of these things has changed the importance of it. Furthermore, it is also a possibility that people might start selling their books online due to the digitalization.
To put it in a nutshell, the rate at which the internet is expanding is quite high; it is quite possible that in the future people will discard printed newspapers and books, as everything they want to read will be widely available online.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position of agreement regarding the future of printed newspapers and books. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed, which restricts the depth of the discussion. For example, while the writer mentions the financial perspective and accessibility, these points are not fully extended with broader implications or robust examples. The mention of 'Dawn printed newspapers' is a relevant local illustration, but the surrounding arguments tend to generalise without exploring alternative viewpoints, such as the enduring cultural value of physical books or tactile reading preferences. To move towards higher bands, the writer needs to expand supporting arguments with greater elaboration and ensure all parts of the prompt are explored in more comprehensive detail.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays some overall organization with basic paragraphing, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing accessibility and financial motivations, and concluding with a summary. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression between ideas, and some transitions feel mechanical. For instance, the paragraphing and linking expressions such as 'Secondly' are somewhat simplistic, and referencing is not always clear, as seen in the ambiguous pronoun use in 'importance of it'. Cohesive devices are sometimes used in a repetitive manner rather than creating a seamless flow of logic. To improve cohesion, the writer should employ a wider and more sophisticated variety of transitional phrases and ensure each paragraph builds logically upon the previous one with clear thematic links.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'uprising', 'digitalization', and 'discard'. However, there are noticeable limitations and occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'without a need to pay' which sounds unnatural compared to 'free of charge'. Phrases like 'purely in terms of financial basis' also show awkward lexical control. While communication is not severely impeded, the range remains restricted and relies heavily on repetitive common words and informal phrasing. To achieve a higher band, the writer should incorporate a more flexible and precise range of academic vocabulary, paying closer attention to natural collocations and word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The essay exhibits a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on basic patterns alongside some attempts at complex sentences that are frequently faulty. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'This is a definite possibility that in the future people do not have to buy' instead of future tense consistency, and 'the digitalization of these things has changed the importance of it' where pronoun agreement is weak. Punctuation and preposition use also show persistent flaws. Although these errors rarely completely obscure the message, they occur with enough frequency to cause occasional difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer needs to demonstrate a better command of complex grammatical structures and improve overall sentence accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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