Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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 6.0)

It is common for people to change their habits and opinions as they become older. I agree with this statement because people’s responsibilities, experiences and priorities usually change throughout their lives.

Firstly, people often change their habits because their lifestyle and responsibilities become different with age. Young people may have more free time and fewer responsibilities, so they might stay up late, eat unhealthy food or spend a lot of time socialising. However, when they start working or have a family, they usually become more organised and careful about their daily routine. For example, a university student may regularly sleep after midnight, but after starting a full-time job, they may develop the habit of sleeping earlier and waking up on time. Therefore, changes in circumstances naturally lead to changes in behaviour.

Secondly, people’s opinions can also change as they gain more knowledge and life experience. Younger people sometimes form strong opinions without having enough practical experience. As they grow older, they meet different people, face new situations and understand issues from several perspectives. For instance, someone may initially believe that earning a high salary is the most important part of a successful career. Later, after gaining work experience, they may start valuing work-life balance and job satisfaction more highly.

In conclusion, I agree that both habits and opinions commonly change with age. This is mainly because people’s responsibilities increase and their experiences help them develop a broader understanding of life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student clearly addresses the prompt by agreeing with the statement and providing reasons as to why people change their habits and opinions as they get older. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the transition of a university student starting a full-time job and the shift in perspective regarding salary versus work-life balance. However, the response has a minor negative impact on Task Achievement due to length: the response contains 240 words, falling slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement. Despite this, all parts of the task are adequately addressed, earning a band score of 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organization. It follows a traditional structure with a clear introduction, two distinct body paragraphs focusing on habits and opinions respectively, and a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'However', and 'For example' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the arguments. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively, with each paragraph focusing on a central topic. The referencing within the text, such as using 'they' and 'their', is clear and easy to follow. This meets the criteria for a band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some flexibility and precision. Words and phrases like 'responsibilities', 'priorities', 'lifestyle', 'perspectives', and 'work-life balance' show a solid command of general and semi-formal language suitable for an IELTS task. There are attempts at less common vocabulary items, and collocations are generally natural. While spelling and word choice are accurate, the range is not quite wide enough for a higher band, as much of the vocabulary is standard for this topic. Therefore, a band score of 6.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student exhibits a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating conditional or dependent clauses effectively, such as in 'Young people may have more free time and fewer responsibilities, so they might stay up late...' and 'As they grow older, they meet different people...'. There is a high frequency of error-free sentences, and punctuation is handled well throughout the text. While the range of complex structures is somewhat standard rather than wide, the grammatical control is strong, resulting in a solid band 7.0 performance.

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