Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-23
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
News stories on TV and in newspapers are very often accompanied by pictures.
Some people say that these pictures are more effective than words.
What is your opinion about this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
It is observed that journals published on media channels and papers often contains images depicting the scene behind the news. However, few people believe that it is the most effective way to describe the news while some people disagree with this fact. Therefore, I personally believe that it is crucial to have pictures on the headlines and articles published on the news channels as they describe the stories behind the incident.
Media journals often insert pictures while publishing a news as it enhances the news quality. For example, when publishing a story, it is accessible to uneducated people as even if they are unable to read the news, they might understand the scene by observing the images. Hence, it helps them learn the incident took place at certain area or people involved.
Moreover, cost cutting is seen in cases like newspapers. For instance, newspaper charges for every single word, so in order to summarize the news in short stanza, media platforms often put images to depict the news with saving money and time. Hence, it will help the media houses in saving money and time on broadcasts.
On the other hand, it may cause confusion when implying images on the top of news. For example, due to technical issues, the broadcasting may interfere with the mix of news and images. Hence, it may disrupt the overall flow of news slideshow with minute mistake.
To sum up, there should be proper management of media houses when publishing the news on TV, however, it will solve the glitch it causes when it comes to technical issues.
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 and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The point regarding accessibility for uneducated people is well-supported, but the argument about 'cost cutting' is less convincing and slightly illogical in the context of modern media. The final paragraph introduces a new point about technical glitches, which is not directly relevant to the core debate of whether pictures are more effective than words. To improve, ensure that every paragraph directly supports your central thesis and provides deeper analysis rather than shifting to tangential topics like technical errors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'For instance', and 'To sum up'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly misused, such as the transition in the final paragraph which does not effectively summarize the preceding arguments. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between ideas could be smoother. The essay follows a standard structure, but the progression of ideas within the body paragraphs could be more sophisticated to achieve a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their opinion clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'depicting' and 'incident', but there are also instances of awkward word choice, such as 'journals published on media channels' and 'implying images'. Some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'saving money and time on broadcasts'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that word choices are contextually appropriate for a formal essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('papers often contains') and article usage ('at certain area'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure could be more varied to demonstrate greater control. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and article errors would significantly improve the accuracy of the writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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