Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

It is important for everyone, including young people, to save money for their future.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

With the growing inflation rates, it is important for each individual to invest their money to meet future requirements. I firmly agree that saving money is essential for an individual because this invested money will help people to make expensive purchases in the future and also helps them to plan their retirement life. This essay will discuss two main reasons to save money.

Firstly, saving money will help people to easily make large corpus purchases. This is because nowadays buying a house requires a large amount of money and it would be difficult for people to arrange those funds immediately. Eventually people will opt for a loan at a higher interest rate in order to manage their finances. While investing a small amount every month from income will help them manage their finances effectively. For example, if young people start their investment early in their career, they will eventually be able to purchase a house by the time they get married.

Secondly, savings help people to optimally plan their retirement life. This is because after a certain age children will move out to a new city for jobs. So for that time this invested money will help them to fulfil their basic requirements. Additionally at the age of retirement, parents will be more financially independent and they can make travel plans from the saved money. For example, young people start saving at the age of 24 and effectively prepare a corpus for their retirement age.

In conclusion, Saving money at a younger age gives financial independence at retirement age and also proper financial planning will ease a costly purchase

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AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt clearly and maintains a consistent position throughout. The introduction sets the stage, and the two body paragraphs provide relevant reasons for saving money. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding retirement could be more nuanced; the link between children moving out and the need for savings is slightly underdeveloped. While the response covers all parts of the task, the supporting examples, such as the mention of saving at age 24, are a bit generic. To reach a higher band, you should aim to provide more detailed explanations and deeper analysis of the consequences of financial planning.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'This is because', and 'Additionally' helps guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by ensuring each paragraph has a more distinct focus. The concluding sentence is a bit abrupt and contains a minor punctuation error. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, but the flow could be made more natural through more sophisticated linking phrases and better integration of sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'inflation rates', 'financial independence', and 'corpus'. However, there are some instances of slightly unnatural word choices or collocations, such as 'large corpus purchases' and 'retirement life'. While these do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary. The repetition of 'financial' and 'money' suggests that expanding your synonym bank would be beneficial for achieving a more sophisticated tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'While investing a small amount every month from income will help them manage their finances effectively' (which is a sentence fragment) and 'Saving money at a younger age gives financial independence at retirement age and also proper financial planning will ease a costly purchase' (which lacks a comma before 'and'). Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the grammar does not impede communication. To improve, focus on sentence variety and ensuring that complex sentences are punctuated correctly.

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

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