Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-13

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some countries, it can be very difficult for people over the age of 50 to get good jobs, despite their experience.

What do you think are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In many countries, it can be difficult for people over the age of 50 to get good jobs, despite their experience. This situation creates several problems such as financial pressure on older people and loos pf productivity in the workplace. But, effective measures such as stronger employment policy and financial support schemes could help address this problem.

One of the major problems of this situation is financial problem faced by the older people. This is because if a person over 50 cannot find a good job, they may accept the lower-salary job. For example, if an older person get a lower-level job such as clerical job, they may have a lower salary and creates financial pressure on them. Another serious issue is loss of experienced professionals in the workplace. If an experienced professional is replaced with an inexperienced employee then they may not have valuable knowledge to deal with complex workplace challenges.

To solve these problems, the government should introduce stronger policies to prevent age discrimination during recruitment. If companies are encouraged to offer suitable positions to older people, they may get access to well-paid employment. In addition, authorities should provide financial assistance to people over 50 through government schemes. For instance, government should provide financial support to unemployed people over 50 while they search for well suited jobs.

In conclusion, this situation might place problems such as loss of productivity and financial pressure. However, this issues can be addressed by stronger recruitment policies and financial support schemes. If both the government and companies make efforts then people over 50 may get good jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: causes and solutions. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the discussion on causes focuses primarily on financial pressure and the loss of experience, but it lacks depth in explaining why these issues occur in the current job market. The solutions provided—government policies and financial support—are relevant but remain quite general. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific examples or elaborate on the mechanisms behind these problems, such as ageism or technological shifts, to demonstrate a more nuanced understanding of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the causes from the solutions. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'For instance', and 'However' are used to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, but the connection between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of cohesive markers to create a more natural progression of ideas throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks sophistication. You use basic terms like 'good jobs', 'problems', and 'serious issue' repeatedly. While the meaning is always clear, there is little evidence of less common lexical items or precise collocations. There are also minor errors, such as 'loos pf productivity' (typo) and 'lower-salary job' (should be 'lower-salaried' or 'lower-paying'). To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring correct word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('if an older person get', 'this issues can be addressed') and article usage ('a lower-salary job', 'a clerical job'). These errors do not impede communication, but they are noticeable. To achieve a higher band, you need to demonstrate more consistent control over complex structures and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips.

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

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