Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-30

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 days, no one will buy printed newspapers or books since they will be able to read everything they want online without purchasing newspapers.

I agree with the argument that in the future individuals will not buy any kind of newspaper.

Following this, in today's world, many newspaper companies are facing a decline in their businesses. The main reason is that people have stopped buying newspapers. Pacing and priorities have transformed. Social media has achieved global reach. Everyone is utilizing social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Everyone prefers online reading instead of reading newspapers. Individuals find this convenient to get news through social media. Through this, they do not need to spend money on purchasing newspapers. That's the major reason why everyone is using smartphones rather than buying newspapers.

Reading books physically used to be very common, but today the trend is being demolished day by day. Students prefer downloading PDFs instead of purchasing books; however, students find this comes in handy. It saves a lot of money. Older people still prefer reading books physically because they think it is better to read books, novels, and articles physically than reading through mobiles; they think they can concentrate more on a book physically as compared to reading online.

In conclusion, it is predicted that people will stop buying newspapers, which will affect newspaper companies and completely shut down their businesses, and there is less chance of an entirely decline of books in comparison with printed newspapers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear general view that printed newspapers are likely to disappear, and you support this with points about social media, convenience and cost. You also acknowledge that some older people still prefer physical books, which begins to address both newspapers and books. However, the response only partially answers the question: it focuses much more on newspapers, and the conclusion does not clearly resolve whether free online access will eliminate book purchases. Several claims, such as newspaper companies completely shutting down, are asserted rather than explained. The response is 239 words, 11 words below the 250-word minimum; the 11 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Develop the book argument and explain your degree of agreement more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate discussion of newspapers and books, and a conclusion. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “The main reason” and “In conclusion” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is limited: the introduction repeats the prompt and then restates your position, while the newspaper paragraph repeats that people prefer online news and do not need to pay. Connections between claims are sometimes unclear, particularly the move from social media use to the prediction that nobody will buy newspapers. The conclusion introduces a distinction between newspapers and books but does not clearly summarise the reasoning. Use each paragraph to develop one main point, reduce repetition, and link examples explicitly to your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary, including “decline,” “global reach,” “convenient,” and “concentrate,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts to discuss trends and preferences rather than relying only on basic terms. However, several expressions are awkward or imprecise, such as “Pacing and priorities have transformed,” “the trend is being demolished,” and “an entirely decline.” Repetition of “everyone,” “prefer,” and “buying newspapers” also limits flexibility. Choose more natural collocations and vary the language used to describe digital reading and changing habits. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish between reading online for free and purchasing printed material, which is central to the question.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, including a contrast with “however” and a reason clause beginning “because.” Most of the main ideas remain understandable. However, the range is limited, and attempts to combine several ideas sometimes produce awkward or unclear sentence structures. For example, “Students prefer downloading PDFs instead of purchasing books; however, students find this comes in handy” does not connect the contrast logically, and the final sentence joins several claims without clear grammatical relationships. There are also issues with articles and forms, as in “an entirely decline,” and with sentence boundaries and punctuation in longer sentences. Practise building accurate complex sentences and check that each connector expresses the intended relationship.

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

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