Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-13

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)

Currently, the population of young individuals in some countries is relatively higher than the number of elderly. I believe that the positive effects of this circumstance are comparably higher than the negative effects.

On the one hand, the young generation has refused to accept the bad situation, they try to improve it by finding better job opportunities and starting their own business. For instance, the young entrepreneurs start their own business at low-paid positions and after some time they work hard to learn new skills, which benefits the company's economic growth. Moreover, the youngsters are more prone to learning and they grasp complex things more efficiently than the older people. They can contribute in accelerating the country progress. Today's generation, which is known as Gen Z, are very intelligent and dedicated to their work. For example, several young individuals have become influencers and run online platforms to support their family and fulfill their own needs. Additionally, whenever some violent cases are reported, such as minor rapes, crimes and women's rights problems, they work as a community to raise awareness against them. They urge the government to take action against them as soon as possible. As compared to older people, they can't serve the country for the longer period because of their physical health.

On the other hand, as the population is increasing day by day, so the young individuals require more job opportunities, better health facilities and top-tier education. For instance, due to increasing population the competition rises among them for availing better opportunities.

In conclusion, whether competition rises among the young individuals due to the population, I believe that the country gets benefit from them in many ways. They help to increase progress of the country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of having a young population, presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are generally relevant, mentioning economic growth, skills acquisition, and increased competition. However, some arguments lack deep development and contain slight generalisations, such as the sudden shift to discussing social issues like minor rapes and influencers without fully tying them back to national demographic advantages. The position is maintained throughout, placing this securely at a Band 6.5 descriptor level, where the main task requirements are met with relevant ideas, though some areas remain slightly under-developed or tangential.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate the discussion of advantages and disadvantages. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced. Referencing is mostly clear, for example, using 'they' to refer to young individuals. However, the logical progression within the first body paragraph becomes somewhat cluttered due to jumping between economic productivity, influencers, and social awareness campaigns without smooth transitional links. This places the essay firmly in the Band 6 category for cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'entrepreneurs', 'economic growth', 'influencers', and 'competition'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are sometimes accompanied by awkward collocations or lexical inaccuracies, such as 'bad situation', 'minor rapes', and 'availing better opportunities'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication. The lexical range and control fit comfortably within the Band 6 criteria, demonstrating sufficient resource to communicate the core ideas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical control is uneven. There are noticeable errors in article usage, prepositional choice, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'the young generation has refused... they try', 'country progress' instead of 'country's progress', and 'for the longer period'. Furthermore, run-on structures and comma splices appear, as seen in 'Currently, the population of young individuals in some countries is relatively higher than the number of elderly, I believe...' Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, reflecting the characteristics of Band 6 grammatical performance.

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