Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-01

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)

Many countries in the world at the moment are going through a situation where there are a relatively large number of young adults as compared to the number of older people. Some people believe that this is an alarming situation for such countries while others think that it is actually a blessing in disguise for that country, so there are many pros and cons of this scenario.

Though it might have some disadvantages, I believe that the advantages will outweigh them. First of all, let's take a look at the advantages. The biggest benefit is that youth is mostly hardworking, and with capable leadership, youth can contribute heavily towards advancement of the country. If through effective policy making, entrepreneurship is promoted among young adults, it can elevate the GDP of that country. Secondly, there will be no skilled or unskilled labour shortage if enough young adults are given mentorship in respective fields, of that country. Also the government would not be spending on pensions of older people, which is a major stress, specially for some developing countries.

Among the disadvantages, only lies the loss of experience in the industries of the country, that can also be dealt if the government deals with this in a positive way, increases employmnet for youth. Though it will require some time but this will perfectly neutralize the loss.

I took a course on policy making for countries last year, where the professor was a peacekeeping trainer of UN, and she actually taught us this too, that if a country has such scenario, its actually a blessing for that country if its policymakers really want it to grow.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of a young population, and you clearly state your position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention economic growth and labor supply, these points are not fully explored with specific examples or detailed reasoning. The third paragraph regarding disadvantages is quite brief and lacks depth, failing to provide a balanced discussion. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph provides a more thorough explanation and a concrete example to support your claims, rather than relying on general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Secondly', and 'Among the disadvantages' to signal transitions between ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the connection between the final paragraph and the rest of the essay is weak. The reference to a personal anecdote in the conclusion is not an effective way to summarize or reinforce your argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a strong topic sentence would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'blessing in disguise', 'entrepreneurship', and 'neutralize'. However, there are some issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'loss of experience in the industries of the country' and 'if the government deals with this in a positive way'. These phrases are slightly unnatural. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing. Your spelling is generally accurate, but the vocabulary remains somewhat basic and lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. For example, 'if enough young adults are given mentorship in respective fields, of that country' is syntactically awkward. There are also issues with article usage and punctuation, such as 'increases employmnet for youth' (spelling error) and the comma usage in the final paragraph. While these errors do not prevent communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of complex sentence construction to achieve a higher score.

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

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