Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-22

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

At the present time, the population of some countries includes a relatively large number of young adults, compared with the number of older people.

Do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In this era, in some nations the

population of youngsters accounted for the

majority of population, in comparison the

older citizens. From perspective, benefits

of this trend clearly outweigh the drawbacks.

The most prominent advantage of that

having young population in country means

quite good work force. The skilled young

population is very useful for development

in any country. The youngsters can do

more physical and mental work fast and

perfect than elderly people. For instance,

according to a report of united nations

India has the world's most young population

so, in all the sectors India has strong

and capable units and Indian youngsters

are useful for other nations too.

Additionally, the young youth help

country to boost economy of country.

The young minds of country start new

businesses and also work abroad and

send money to their native country.

To illustrate, the founder of Boat

company, which is included in one of the

biggest electronic company is started by

a young entrepreneur Aman Gupta. Hence,

youngsters contribute lion's share in the

growth of the country.

In contrast, the main drawback

is young citizens do not know much about

the culture than older generation. The

senior citizens have superior

knowledge and know value of their

culture. They teach and inspire

new generation about the native

clothing's and festivals and many more

things. Moreover, grandparents raise

their grandchildren with love and explain

some important topics such as honesty, respect

and family importance in life.

To conclude, it is true that

having more youth in country than elderly

individuals have some negative consequences,

however, positive aspects like contribution

in economy and skillful workforce are

dominate drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, maintaining a clear position that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The ideas are relevant, such as the economic contribution of a young workforce and the cultural role of the elderly. However, some points are under-developed; for instance, the claim that young people work 'fast and perfect' is a generalization that lacks nuance. While the example of India and the entrepreneur Aman Gupta is relevant, the explanation of how these factors specifically outweigh the cultural loss could be more deeply explored to reach a higher band. Overall, the task is addressed adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Additionally', 'To illustrate', and 'In contrast', which help the flow of ideas. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'From perspective' (which is missing a pronoun) and 'In this era'. Referencing is generally clear, but the progression of ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure supports the argument effectively, though the use of cohesive devices is not always sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their meaning clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'entrepreneur' and 'lion's share', which is positive. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'young youth' (redundant), 'perfect' used as an adverb instead of 'perfectly', and 'clothing's' (incorrect pluralization). These errors do not impede communication, but they limit the score. To improve, the student should focus on more precise word forms and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the population of youngsters', 'in country'), subject-verb agreement, and sentence construction (e.g., 'having young population in country means quite good work force'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure often feels repetitive. The errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would improve the score.

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

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