Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-14

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 some countries, people who are above the age of 50 could face challenges reguarding getting jobs inspite of having years of experience. Although they have experience, jobs accept young people before considering them which would be a great problem to them. There could be some measure taken and solve this problem.

The reason people over 50 struggle to get jobs could be simple because they are old, many companies don't want old people working in their place. Eventhough they have experience companies prefer young one's because they could work for them for a long time and work effectively as compared to old age people. For example, someone has just started a jobs and wants clients to work in it first thing they want are young guys because they will work faster and effeciently then old people who can't work in a particular speed and get tried easily. There may even be some accidents which could have a massive impact on the jobs they work. So this may be the cause of the problem with old age people not getting job.

Despite their old age companies or jobs should atleast consider providing some normal work they could carry out. Other things that could be done is old age people could start a workplace of their own, invite inexperienced students and earn money by providing them knowledge about it. Plus they could even have a online source of income to by sharing course online. The jobs which they worked in their youth could even support them to some years after their retirement. These measure could be carried out to minimize the problem.

In conclusion, this problem could be happening in many countries rather then some countries. Its essential for people to understand how will they support themself without a job. So it important to spread these kind of problem and minimize it's cause.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

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. The arguments regarding why companies prefer younger workers (e.g., 'they will work faster') are generalized and lack depth or sophisticated reasoning. The proposed solutions, such as starting a workplace or sharing courses online, are relevant but could be expanded with more specific examples or logical connections to the causes identified. The position is clear, but the overall depth of analysis is limited, keeping the response at a mid-level band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'The reason...', 'Despite their old age...', 'In conclusion...'). There are instances where the progression between sentences feels disjointed, such as the transition between the discussion of workplace accidents and the conclusion of the second paragraph. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There is a reliance on basic terms like 'old people' and 'young guys', which are not ideal for an academic essay. Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'reguarding' (spelling error) and 'atleast' (spelling error). The student attempts to use some topic-specific language, but the range is limited. To reach a higher band, the student should incorporate more sophisticated collocations and avoid informal phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede readability. Examples include 'inspite of' (should be 'in spite of'), 'young one's' (incorrect apostrophe), and 'effeciently then' (spelling and comparative error). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are also inconsistent. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.