Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-25
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)
In todays era, pictures became the important part of every story on television as well as on the newspapers. And people believe that they convey the message more effectively rather than the actual words. This essay shall discuss this view and i completely agree with this thought.
On the one hand, some people argue that newspapers or tv channels should say words without showing any kind of pictures. This could be because reader will just see the pictures in the newspaper and thinks he understood the whole concept, which can be lead to misunderstanding of the news. Sale word is shown in the picture but when it is going to be happen people will only we able to get if actual details would be written, for example. So, words are far more important than photos.
On the other hand, pictures give better understanding of the messages. The main reason behind this is, if writers will publish only words it will seems to be boring, people will not show their interest to read newspapers and will forget the news very easily. For example, in the newspaper one news came that there is going to be new apartments in the model town of the city and everything will be just written, people will forget or have question what is going to be which side, while if there would be pictures of apartments along with garden area, parking space, how many flats would be in one building, they will be more interested for sure.
In conclusion, although words are important to cast any newspaper, I support pictures along with the news, as they give better understanding.
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. The ideas are relevant, though the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding the 'Model Town' apartments is a good attempt at providing a concrete example, but the explanation of why words alone are 'boring' is a bit simplistic. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand on your reasoning with more sophisticated analysis of how visual media impacts human cognition or information retention. The conclusion is present but brief, and the overall development of the argument could be more nuanced to fully explore the effectiveness of pictures versus words.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' to signal shifts in the argument. However, some transitions are mechanical, and the flow between sentences is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'Sale word is shown in the picture but when it is going to be happen'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing is precise would help the essay flow more naturally.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on common, repetitive phrasing such as 'important part', 'very easily', and 'more interested'. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'cast any newspaper' (which is incorrect) and 'sale word'. To improve, you should focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to media and communication, rather than relying on basic descriptive adjectives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'In todays era, pictures became the important part' should be 'In today's era, pictures have become an important part'. There are also issues with article usage, subject-verb agreement, and tense consistency, such as 'it will seems to be boring'. While the meaning is generally understandable, these recurring errors prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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