Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-14

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 5.0)

It is true that nowadays the population of some countries of young adults has become relatively large compared to the old people.

I believe that this development has completely more advantages, as there are many young generations of people making an effort for a better tomorrow as they are doing better than the people before or are passing away as old people. Every country has their own ideas about developing something beneficial for their country. So young people are mostly able to make efforts to make progress in their lives and for their country too. In addition, some countries have been providing great convenience to people, which is one of the most common reasons that many young adults have been moving to that country. For example, the Netherlands involves many young adults.

Similarly, there are many countries in Europe that involve large numbers of young adults. If we take a look at the disadvantages of this situation, there are lots of things to learn from our elders and those ideas which are relative to our lives that we can't learn without the ideology of older people if we're not giving them any value. So, most countries are believed to have an older generation too.

In the end, I would love to mention that we should say that a nation or a state belongs to their population first, and they will both always be successful by having the ideology of both young adults and older people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of a population with a large proportion of young adults. However, the development of ideas is limited and at times unclear, as seen in vague assertions like 'many young generations of people making an effort for a better tomorrow'. While a position is stated, the arguments lack sufficient depth, supporting examples are superficial and repetitive (such as mentioning the Netherlands and Europe without substantive explanation), and the conclusion does not clearly weigh the advantages against the disadvantages to reach a definitive verdict. Furthermore, the response falls slightly short of the 250-word minimum, containing 245 words, which negatively impacts task achievement under IELTS guidelines. These shortcomings place the response at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is divided into paragraphs, but the overall organization and logical progression are weak. The introduction attempts to set up the topic, but the body paragraphs lack clear thematic focus and smooth transitions. Cohesive devices are sometimes used mechanically or inaccurately, such as 'In addition' and 'Similarly', which do not accurately signal the logical relationship between the ideas presented. Pronoun referencing is also occasionally confusing, for instance in phrases like 'those ideas which are relative to our lives that can't learn without the ideology of older people if we're not giving them any value'. While the text has some overarching structure, the lack of clear progression and faulty cohesion restrict it to a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student displays a limited and repetitive vocabulary that is minimally adequate for the task. Phrases such as 'large number of young adults', 'better tomorrow', and 'older people' are repeated frequently without much variation. Attempts to use less common or more sophisticated lexical items result in unnatural collocations or imprecise meanings, such as 'ideology of older people' or 'completely more advantages'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but word choice errors are noticeable throughout the text, occasionally causing confusion for the reader. These lexical limitations and lack of precision correspond to a Band 5.0 descriptor level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently awkward, overly long, or grammatically flawed. For example, the sentence beginning with 'If we take a look at the disadvantages...' is convoluted and lacks clear structural control. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as article omission and preposition misuse ('involves many young adults' instead of 'have many young adults'), along with awkward phrasing that impairs readability. Although the meaning can generally be deciphered with effort, the high frequency of grammatical inaccuracies and lack of reliable control over complex structures place this criterion at a Band 5.0.

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

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