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 young adults compared to the elderly. In my opinion, advantages of a predominantly larger young population significantly outweigh the potential drawbacks.
On the one hand, 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 acquire modern skills, making them 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 engagement, encouraging governments to address pressing social concerns and promote policy reforms.
On the another hand, a larger youth population presents noticeable infrastructure challenges. The demand rises for quality of education, better health facilities and employment. This fosters intense 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 skillful youth to the country's long-term goals, makes this trend far more advantageous.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student addresses the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of having a large young adult population, concluding clearly that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The position is maintained throughout the response. However, the ideas are somewhat generalized and lack fully extended supporting examples. Furthermore, as noted in the length check, the essay contains only 200 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum requirement. This under-length impacts the overall development and completeness of the task response. Consequently, the score is constrained to Band 5.0 due to the incomplete development and failure to meet the minimum word count.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a generally clear overall organization with distinct introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as economic advantages versus infrastructure challenges. Cohesive devices are employed, including transition markers like 'On the one hand' and 'On the another hand'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, and minor mechanical issues appear, such as the grammatical slip 'On the another hand'. Progression is visible, but the overall logical flow is somewhat basic and repetitive. These factors place the response firmly in Band 6.0 for coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and topic-specific terms such as 'demographic structure', 'labour market', 'digital literacy', and 'civic engagement'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational errors throughout the text, such as 'young adults serves' (subject-verb agreement), 'technological sector' (missing article), and 'a limited resources' (article misuse). Additionally, the phrase 'On the another hand' combines two different idioms incorrectly. Because the vocabulary range is adequate for communicating the central ideas despite these noticeable errors and word-choice slips, a score of Band 6.0 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting varied clauses such as 'making them vital assets in today's fast-changing labour market' and 'encouraging governments to address pressing social concerns'. However, there are several grammatical and mechanical errors present in the text, including 'young adults serves', 'On the another hand', 'The demand rises for quality of education' (missing article), and 'although high concentration of young adults population increases competition for a limited resources'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur with enough frequency to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Therefore, a score of Band 6.0 is awarded.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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