Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-07

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)

It is quite usual that Individuals transform their habits and perspectives by the time they get old. There are numerous reasons ranging from life lessons and maturity to knowing their self worth till that time. It somehow affects the overall personality. I completely agree with this statement.

The first reason depends on life experiences people face by time. Sometimes, few incidents in life teaches a lesson that makes a completely different human. For example, nowadays unfortunately people are more prone to serious illnesses than before. Social media provides a great platform where people discuss how diet affects their lifestyle and make them healthy. As a result, public are becoming more disciplined and focused towards their health. so, it changes old habits and opinions with time and exposure.

Additional reason is reaching at old age means knowing about yourself better than before.Various habits people carry are not often bad but they donot have any benefit. For instance just living a life without any goal although it has no harm, short and long term goals automatically make you motivated towards life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear in the introduction: “I completely agree,” and both body paragraphs offer relevant reasons, including lessons from experience and greater self-understanding with age. However, the response addresses the task only partially because these ideas are asserted more than explained. The example about social media and health does not clearly show how getting older changes people’s habits or opinions, and the point about goals needs a more direct link to age. The conclusion is also absent, so your overall argument is not fully rounded off. The response is 179 words, which is 71 words below the required minimum; this leaves too little space to develop your reasons and examples. Explain each reason with a specific, relevant example and add a brief conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction followed by two paragraphs presenting separate reasons. Phrases such as “The first reason” and “Additional reason” help signal the structure, and the main ideas can generally be followed. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The discussion moves from illness to social media and then to discipline without fully explaining the links, while the goals example is not clearly connected to ageing. Some linking is mechanical, and the final paragraph ends abruptly without a conclusion. Develop one central point at a time, use clearer references to connect examples to your claims, and finish with a short summary of your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “perspectives,” “life experiences,” “disciplined,” and “short and long term goals.” These choices help communicate your main ideas, and you attempt some less common expressions such as “knowing their self worth.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “by the time they get old,” “prone to serious illnesses,” and “focused towards their health.” “Transform” also sounds stronger than the changes described. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for familiar, accurate collocations—for example, “as they grow older,” “at risk of illness,” and “focused on their health”—before trying more ambitious phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “incidents in life teaches a lesson that makes a completely different human” and a contrast structure in “although it has no harm.” The overall meaning is usually understandable, but some errors in agreement, sentence boundaries, and punctuation remain. For example, “incidents … teaches” should use a plural verb, and “public are becoming” needs an appropriate determiner or plural noun. The sentence beginning “For instance just living a life” is not clearly structured, and “so” is incorrectly capitalised after a full stop. Review subject–verb agreement and make sure each sentence has a clear main clause. More accurate control of these structures would strengthen the response.

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