Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

It is very common for people to change both their habits and their opinions as they get older.

Do you agree or disagree?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

People believe that when they become older, it is very prevalent to change their habits and opinions. I totally disagree with this opinion because of an adaptability and behaviour.

One of the most significant reason why changing opinions are not common for people is adaptability. Whatever opinions people carry in their whole life, they think their opinions are right. Therefore, it would be arduous for them to change them as they get older. People are so convenient and they cannot accept that they carry the wrong opinions and they need to change. Whatever they learn when they were young, they just want to have the same thoughts.

Another significant factor why it is not common to change habits is individual's behaviours. Sometimes people are so comfortable with their daily routines and habits, they do not want to change them. It would be arduous for them to adopt new habits in an older age. Older people do not want to put extra efforts to learn new activities.

Undoubtedly, some people change their opinions with time, when they have some worst experience in their life by stubborn to their fake opinions. Therefore, they changed them instead of facing the same trouble in the future. Many time it happens that when people become older, it is not possible for them to continue the same habits because of their health and have less energy in their body, so they decided to change it. However, it happens only when they were not able to continue those habits otherwise if their bodies allow them then definitely they would love to continue same habits.

Although due to severe health condition, people change their habit when they become older, if they are fit it would be arduous for them to change their habits and opinions significantly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by clearly taking a position against the statement, arguing that people do not typically change habits and opinions as they age. The ideas are relevant and supported by reasoning regarding adaptability and behavioural comfort. However, the development tends to be repetitive, often restating the same core idea across paragraphs rather than fully extending it with distinct sub-points or rich examples. Furthermore, there is a minor contradiction in the fourth paragraph where you acknowledge that people do change their habits due to health or negative experiences, which slightly blurs the sharpness of your total disagreement. Consequently, the response fits the Band 6 descriptor well, as it addresses all parts of the task with a clear position, but some ideas remain under-developed or repetitive.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement with distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, body paragraphs focusing on separate factors (adaptability and behavior), an acknowledgement paragraph, and a conclusion. Logical sequencing is present, and basic cohesive devices such as 'One of the most significant reasons', 'Another significant factor', and 'However' are used to guide the reader. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes mechanical, and sentences like 'Because of an adaptability and behaviour' in the introduction feel abrupt. Paragraphing is adequate, but the logical progression within paragraphs stalls due to repetitive phrasing, making the overall flow somewhat circular rather than progressively advancing. This aligns closely with Band 6 criteria for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'adaptability', 'routines', 'arduous', and 'significantly'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations throughout the text. For instance, writing 'change opinions are not common' (should be 'changes in opinions are not common') and 'People are so convenient' (when you mean 'comfortable' or 'set in their ways'). You also write 'worst experience' instead of 'worse experiences' or 'bad experiences', and 'have less energy in their body'. These errors in word choice and collocation prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0, where noticeable errors in lexical choice exist.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and conditional structures, such as 'Whatever opinions people carry in their whole life, they think their opinions are right' and 'if their bodies allow them then definitely they would love to continue same habits.' However, grammatical errors are frequent and noticeable. There are issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'One of the most significant reason' (should be 'reasons'), 'at an older age' (often 'in old age'), and missing articles before nouns like 'worst experience'. Run-on sentences and punctuation slips also occur. Because these errors persist across the text without entirely impeding communication, the grammar performance corresponds to a Band 5.5.

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.