Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 a society, people tends to have different habits and a variety of opinions, some thinks that habits and opinions change by time, others think the opposite. The question is: Do they really change in fonction of age? and how does that work?

In my point of view, i think that habits and opinions change by time, and i will explain why in the next arguments below;

First, Age is considered a very important aspect, and we do acquire different experiences over time, this can lead us to change some habits or opinions.

For example, we can change our habits to become the best version of us.

Second, we loose the ability of doing some habits due to some illeness, that we get by growing old, that's why i believe that growing old can stop us from doing some activities that we used to do or opinions we thought that it represents us.

Third, everyone is free to change a habit, and everyone of us is free to change their thoughts

To conclude, i believe that, growing old can have an impact on our opinions or habits, and everyone of us can change them without the fear of judgement.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the task only partially and fails to meet the minimum length requirement, containing 199 words instead of the required 250. The writer presents a clear position that habits and opinions change over time, but the ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the arguments introduced in the body paragraphs—such as acquiring experiences or facing illness—are stated briefly without sufficient explanation, specific elaboration, or concrete examples from personal experience. While the prompt asks for reasons and relevant examples, the examples provided, like 'we can change our habits to become the best version of us,' are vague and lack depth. To reach higher bands, the writer must expand the response to meet the length requirement and fully develop each main point with extended reasoning and detailed supporting evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates some organisation with basic markers like 'First', 'Second', and 'To conclude', but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, but the paragraphs are very short and mechanically structured, lacking smooth transitions between thoughts. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'by time' and 'change a habit'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as seen in the sentence starting with 'this can lead us', where the exact antecedent is muddy. To improve coherence and cohesion, the writer needs to group ideas into more developed, cohesive paragraphs and use a wider, more natural variety of linking words to connect arguments fluidly rather than relying on a rigid listing format.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic message. The writer uses a restricted range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, such as 'habits', 'opinions', 'experience', and 'judgment'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form that cause some difficulty for the reader, such as 'in fonction of age' instead of 'as a function of age', 'loose' instead of 'lose', and 'illeness' instead of 'illness'. There is also heavy repetition of words like 'change', 'habits', and 'opinions' throughout the essay. To move up to a higher band, the writer should incorporate a broader and more precise range of vocabulary, including less common items and synonyms, while ensuring accurate spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic compound structures. Attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, featuring punctuation and grammatical errors such as comma splices and incorrect clause integration, as seen in 'we loose the ability of doing some habits due to some illeness, that we get by growing old, that's why i believe...'. Frequent errors occur in verb forms, prepositions, articles, and punctuation—for instance, writing 'i' in lowercase and mishandling commas around relative clauses. These errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer must demonstrate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with better control and significantly fewer errors.

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

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