Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-10

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 regions, individuals over the age of 50 find difficulty in getting jobs in the market, no matter how much experience they have. This development has occur due to employers changes in mindset. Older employees are seen as short term employee and less suitable for their role. In this essay causes of this problems and measures to solve it will be discussed.

To begin with, there are many reason of older employee not getting jobs in market. One of the reason is, many companies follow a strict guidelines for hiring a employee. Such guidelines does not favour older employees as they are perceived as less competent compared to younger employees. So in job markets while having great experience from last jobs, still older people are not prioritise over young fresh employees, that gave a company long term security and more

adaptability. For instance, 2 individuals of different age younger with no experience and older with experience applied for same role in a company. The chances of getting a job for older person is lesser than the other as age factor plays a significant role for hiring a employee.

Furthermore, This development has led to unemployment of older people and waste of their experiences. This can be resolved by older people to learn new technologies and compete with younger generations. Learning has no age and learning a new concept and idea will defenitly will be helpfull. So for competing with new generation new skills and flexiblity ought to be learned by older people for improving their chances of getting a job despite their age factor.

In conclusion, in some countries, getting job for employees over age 50 despite their experience is difficult. This is mainly because older employee seem to be less competent and less flexible compared to young employees. This can be resolve by learning new skills and being more flexible for older employees.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: you identify employers’ preference for younger workers as a cause and suggest that older people learn new technologies and develop flexibility. The example comparing two applicants also helps illustrate perceived age bias. However, the explanation of the cause remains narrow: the claim that older workers are considered less competent is asserted rather than explored, and the idea that employers seek “long term security” is not clearly explained. The proposed solution focuses only on what older applicants can do; measures by employers or governments, such as fair recruitment policies or retraining programmes, would make the response more complete. Develop each point with a clearer explanation of how it contributes to the problem or addresses it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement, with an introduction, a paragraph on causes, a paragraph on a solution, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” makes the stages easy to follow. The main progression is understandable, but some links between ideas are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Furthermore” introduces a consequence before moving to a solution, while “This development” does not clearly specify whether it refers to age discrimination or unemployment. The example is relevant but could be connected more explicitly to the claim about hiring practices. Use more precise referencing and show the cause-and-effect links between sentences to make the argument flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competent,” “adaptability,” “unemployment,” and “flexibility,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the reader pause. Examples include “strict guidelines for hiring a employee,” “not prioritise over young fresh employees,” and “waste of their experiences.” Spelling errors such as “defenitly,” “helpfull,” and “flexiblity” also reduce accuracy. Aim to use more precise employment-related collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully. This would help you express the ideas more clearly and avoid repeating broad terms such as “older employees” and “new skills.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “This development has occur” needs a past participle, while “many companies follow a strict guidelines” has a mismatch between the determiner and noun. In “This can be resolve,” the verb form is also incorrect. Some sentences become difficult to process because clauses are joined awkwardly, as in the comparison of the two applicants. Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses, checking agreement and verb forms in each sentence.

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