Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-03

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)

Nowadays, in the era of digitalisation, people prefer to read books or newspapers online rather than buying a printed version. Although, both printed and digital versions are accessible to the people. I partially agree with the statement and will discuss in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, in the future, the demand for printed newspapers and books will diminish. However, it wont totally decline as there will be some enthusiast who prefers to read a printed copy rather than a digital one. The major reason for someone to prefer a digital copy is because a printed version helps in increasing the attention ability of the reader. If a reader shifts to a digital copy then he will lack attention and lose focus will reading as he gets the urge to check notifications and social media every now and then. Furthermore, reading it online has other side affects such as it affects the reader's eye if they continue to read for a longer period of time. In addition to that, the authors who publish reports won't be able to make any profits as their articles would be available to the users without them paying.

Secondly, the printed newspapers and books requires tons of trees on a daily basis to produce such papers to print, and to equalise the demand there has been a lot of deforestation happening and by going digtal we can solve a major cause of deforestation and protect the climate before it gets worse.

To conclude, I partially agree with the statement that in the future nobody will buy printed newspapers or books as they will read everything online without paying as it is the next best step to prevent major causes indirectly by printing physical copies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You state a clear partial agreement and address the future of printed media, giving reasons related to attention, eye strain, authors’ income and deforestation. These points are relevant, but the position is not fully supported: the claim that printed reading improves attention is not clearly connected to why people will continue buying print, and the point about authors’ profits is difficult to follow. The environmental argument also seems to support switching to digital media, but its relationship to your partial agreement is not explained. Develop each main reason with a clearer explanation or example, and address the claim that online material will be available without payment more directly. This would make your response more complete and your position more consistently supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore” and “To conclude” help readers identify the stages of your argument. However, progression within the body paragraphs is uneven. The first paragraph moves from attention and eye strain to authors’ profits without explaining how these points connect, while the second introduces deforestation as a separate argument with little development. Some links are also unclear, particularly the transition from the claim that print will diminish to the reasons people may still prefer it. Group related ideas together and use linking phrases to show whether each point supports your partial agreement or qualifies it. Clearer paragraph focus and more precise referencing would make the overall organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “digitalisation,” “printed version,” “notifications,” “deforestation” and “protect the climate.” These choices make the subject clear, and you attempt some more specific expressions. However, several word-choice, spelling and collocation errors reduce precision: “attention ability” is unnatural, “side affects” should be “side effects,” and “digtal” is misspelled. “Equalise the demand” does not express the intended idea clearly, and “the next best step to prevent major causes indirectly” is vague. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise wording for the effects of screen reading, the environmental impact of paper production and the availability of free online content would strengthen your argument without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession with “Although” and a conditional sentence beginning “If a reader shifts to a digital copy.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but some errors in sentence construction, agreement, verb forms and punctuation remain. “Although, both printed and digital versions are accessible” is an incomplete and incorrectly punctuated clause; “it wont totally decline” needs an apostrophe and a clearer subject, while “some enthusiast who prefers” has a number-agreement problem. In “the printed newspapers and books requires,” the verb does not agree with the plural subject. Review clause boundaries, subject–verb agreement and consistent sentence punctuation. More accurate control of these patterns would make your varied sentences clearer and more reliable.

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