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 demographic structure of several nations is leaning toward a larger population of the young adults compared to the elderly. In my opinion, advantages of predominantly a larger young generation are significantly outweigh the potential drawbacks.
On the one hand, the young adults serves as a powerful engine for the country's social and economic growth and development. They are more adaptive, innovative, and eager to aquire modern skills, making them a vital assets in today's fast-changing labour market. The young entrepreneurs establish new ventures, working tirelessly to drive more production and economic growth overall. Today's high digital literacy enables the youngsters to excel in modern technological sector. Beyond business, a dynamic youth demographic fosters active civic engagements, encouraging the governments to address pressing social concerns and promote policy reforms.
On the other hand, a larger youth population presents noticeably infrastructure challenges. The demand rises for quality of education, better health facilities and employment. This infosters a competition leading to unemployment if national infrastructure fails to expand at the same time.
In Conclusion, although high concentration of young adults population increases competition for a limited resources, overall contributions of a dynamic and skillfull youth to the country's long-term goals, makes this trend far more advantageous.
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 by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of having a large young adult population, ultimately taking a clear position. Key points such as economic growth, innovation, and infrastructure strain are introduced and supported with relevant ideas. However, the response falls short of the official task requirements, containing only 205 words compared to the minimum of 250. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas, leading to a penalty under Task Achievement where arguments remain somewhat concise rather than fully extended.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is generally coherent with a clear overall structure, utilizing basic paragraphing to separate the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand', guiding the reader through the discussion. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, and the word 'infosters' creates a confusing link in the third paragraph. Despite these flaws, the logical progression is apparent throughout the short text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'demographic structure', 'entrepreneurs', and 'digital literacy'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'aquire' instead of 'acquire', 'a vital assets' (grammatical agreement error combined with vocabulary), and the invented word 'infosters'. These lexical errors occasionally distract the reader, placing the response firmly within the Band 6 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structure. There are, however, frequent grammatical errors that recur throughout the essay. Examples include subject-verb agreement errors like 'the young adults serves', article misuse such as 'advantages of predominantly a larger young generation are significantly outweigh', and awkward phrasing in the conclusion. While communication is not severely impeded, the density of grammatical errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.