Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-28
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)
Most people will like to read books online in the future. It is often argued that people will prefer to read books online without any cost and they will not be interested in reading physical books or newspapers.In my opinion, most people will tend to read e-books because of their convenience and affordability but they have to pay for the subscription.
Online books provide its reader convenience in reading. When a new book is published, may readers who read printed books, they have to wait until a publisher published them. Sometimes a popular book in a bookshop is sold out quickly, and many readers are still waiting. Meanwhile, online readers can read book at the same time when it is uploaded without the hassle of commuting. They feel much convenient and they can enjoy reading their favourite book.
Online platforms provide books with a small subscription amount as compared to the books sold out at the stores. They generally asked for the whole fee of that platform rather than demanding the amount for individual books. Printed books are generally expensive because writer sometimes charge the name of writer. Meanwhile e-books are quite affordable than printed books.
Online platforms mostly charge the fee to generate the revenue and run the applications smoothly. Because to run a website smoothly and for future maintenance, developers charge the fee for its consumers. So readers have to pay for subscription monthly or yearly to enjoy the reading experience.
In conclusion, I would say that convenience and affordability of reading books online will shift many printed books reader to online although they have to pay for subscription.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
Your position is identifiable: you expect online reading to become more popular because it is convenient and affordable, while disagreeing with the claim that it will be free. The paragraph explaining subscription fees directly addresses the “without paying” part of the prompt. However, the response focuses mainly on books and gives little attention to newspapers, and it does not fully explain whether printed publications will disappear or simply become less popular. Some support is also unclear, such as the claim that printed books cost more because writers “charge the name of writer.” Develop the comparison with specific, relevant reasons and make your extent of agreement explicit from the introduction through to the conclusion.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs on convenience and cost, an explanation of subscription fees, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. However, progression within some paragraphs is less controlled. For example, the discussion of a book being sold out shifts to online access without clearly explaining how this supports the broader claim about printed media. Connect each example explicitly to your position, and use referencing more clearly; “they” in “they have to wait” could refer to readers or books. Linking phrases such as “Meanwhile” and “So” help, but their repeated use can feel mechanical. More varied transitions and clearer links between examples and claims would strengthen cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “subscription,” “publisher,” “commuting,” “revenue,” and “maintenance,” and the reader can generally understand your meaning. However, the range is limited by repeated words such as “books,” “read,” and “online,” while several collocations or word choices are inaccurate: “feel much convenient,” “sold out at the stores,” and “charge the name of writer.” These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less precise. Build a wider set of natural expressions for comparing formats and costs, and check how verbs combine with nouns—for example, whether a book is “available” or “out of stock,” and whether a platform “charges a subscription fee.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “although” and a reason introduced by “because.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and verb forms occur throughout. For example, “When a new book is published, may readers who read printed books, they have to wait” is an incomplete and confusing structure, while “until a publisher published them” has an inconsistent verb form. There are also agreement and article errors in “Online books provide its reader” and “Printed books are generally expensive because writer…” Review sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement, and articles, then proofread each sentence to ensure its clauses are complete and logically connected.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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