Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-19
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)
Debates and discussions have always been around. There are always different groups of people that may differ from each other on certain topics. One such topic is saving money for our future. In this essay, I will discuss both type of views and give my opinion using a pragmatic approach. Actually, I also agree with saving money for future.
Saving money can be very beneficial for people. People with responsibilities usually save money for their future. In case of any emergency in the future, the one who saved money would be less stressed. Saving money is essential for us. In case of losing our job or retirement, the saved money makes our life more flexible. Saved money also lower the anxiety. It also covers our unexpected costs and basic living needs. It also helps us in our long-term goals. We can also invest our saved money, which is a pretty good move.
On the other hand, some people don't save money who are not worried about their future. They live their life in their own way. They don't think that saving money is such important. Those, who have generational wealth or are non-ambitious about their life goals should usually do that. They enjoy their life and waste money other than saving it. in case of any future emergency, they would be more stressed. So, saving money is important for us in this way.
It is important to realize that there is always potential evidence to support alternating views. But in the light of the evidence and discussion above, I construe that, saving money is very important for all of us for a flexible future.
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 student addresses the prompt by discussing the importance of saving money for the future and states a clear position in the introduction and conclusion. However, the task type requested in the prompt is an opinion essay asking 'To what extent do you agree or disagree?', yet the student states in the introduction, 'I will discuss both type of views and give my opinion', which resembles a discussion essay structure. While the student does present arguments for why some people do not save and supports their own view, the ideas tend to be repetitive and lack deep extension or specific real-world examples. Phrases like 'Saving money can be very beneficial for people' are stated without strong elaboration. Overall, the response meets the basic requirements of addressing all parts of the task with a recognizable position, falling under the Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is divided into four paragraphs, providing a coherent overall arrangement. Ideas are generally grouped logically, with the introduction, body paragraphs discussing saving versus not saving, and a concluding summary. However, cohesion is frequently mechanical and repetitive, especially the overuse of starting sentences with 'It also' in the second paragraph ('It also covers our unexpected costs... It also helps us... We can also invest...'). Furthermore, referencing is sometimes awkward, as seen in the transition 'So, saving money is important for us in this way.' Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different perspectives, but the overall progression could be smoother and more sophisticated to reach a higher band level.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'pragmatic approach', 'emergency', 'retirement', and 'generational wealth'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'both type of views' (instead of types), 'waste money other than saving it' (instead of instead of saving), and 'non-ambitious' (uncommon or unnatural collocation; 'lacking ambition' would be better). The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but word-choice inaccuracies and occasional repetition of basic words like 'money' limit the score to a solid Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'In case of any emergency in the future, the one who saved money would be less stressed.' There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement and article usage errors, such as 'both type of views', 'Saved money also lower the anxiety' (should be 'lowers'), and 'in case of any future emergency' (lowercase 'in'). Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and they rarely impede communication. The control of grammar is sufficient for a Band 6, featuring a mixture of error-free structures alongside frequent minor errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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