Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13
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 5.0)
In the 21st century, people are occupied with their regular duties and responsibilities, which leaves them no option but to change their behaviour over time. In my opinion, I agree that the public's points of view differ as they age.
To start, they face several decisions in life. Perhaps humans evolve as they age; some fail to upgrade themselves. For example, a case study of a group of 10 adults in their 50s, where they were asked to write about past decisions they made until the exam. Therefore, each adult's decision improved by 20% on every birthday by evolving their daily habits. Moreover, the least change happened in opinions.
Furthermore, responsibilities play a vital role as they realise that priorities help a person make smart decisions in life. As an example, in my 20s I was too focused on sports. As a result, my academic scores were declining significantly. However, after altering my daily habits to create balance between studies and football; therefore, I realised that by taking responsibility, my grades were no longer jeopardised.
Education is another example to see changes in an individual's opinions. A case study of Paris, in which 20 adults were
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that people's habits and opinions change over time, and attempts to provide reasons and examples. However, the student's text suffers from a major drawback regarding the word count requirement: the response is only 196 words, failing the 250-word minimum threshold. Consequently, the ideas remain under-developed and abruptly cut off, as seen in the incomplete final paragraph about Paris. While the student attempts to use examples like personal experience with sports and academic scores, the overall development is limited and truncated. This warrants a band score of 4.5, reflecting the minimal response to length requirements and under-developed task fulfilment.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay displays some logical organisation with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding attempt, though the final paragraph is incomplete. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or incorrectly, such as the redundant 'therefore' in the sentence: 'after altering my daily habits to create balance between studies and football; therefore, I realised...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the abrupt ending severely disrupts the overall progression and flow of ideas. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of completion prevents a higher score. Based on these organisational flaws and the incomplete text, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'responsibilities', 'priorities', 'significant', and 'jeopardised'. There are some attempts at less common words, but word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward or imprecise, such as 'upgrade themselves' and 'least change happened in opinions'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the restricted vocabulary range and instances of unnatural phrasing limit the score. Communication is not heavily impeded, but the vocabulary remains basic and repetitive in places, fitting the criteria for a band score of 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional or relative clauses like 'people are occupied with their regular duties and responsibilities, which leaves them no option...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, particularly with run-on structures and incorrect semicolon usage followed by transitional words like 'therefore'. For example: 'after altering my daily habits to create balance between studies and football; therefore, I realised...' mixes a prepositional phrase with a semicolon incorrectly. Despite these frequent errors, meaning is usually decipherable. This aligns well with the descriptors for a band score of 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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