Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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 6.5)

I disagree with the fact that it is common for people to change their habits and agree that its easy for them to change their opinions as they get older.

I believe as the people age, the habits once cultivated become stronger and much more incorporated into their personalities. No matter for which reason a habit is adopted, subconciously the brain keeps repeating the same patterns in all conditions. Take nail biting for example, a hobby most people often develop due to anxiety in their childhood, but once the habit sets its foot, even the grown up adults who discover and experience itss harmful effects on their personality and health are even not able to give the habit up for good.

On the contrast, mature people often change their opinions based on the new facts that they discover as time passes by. Time and the knowledge or information pool of a specific time, casts its shadow on people's opinions. Opinion about healthy cooking oils, for example, a decade back was based on seed oils never ending benefits, but now with newer research backing traditional animal fats for glorious perks such as large amounts of fat soluble vitamins has shifted people's opinions towards utilizing it for culinary purposes.

Summarizing the discussion, I believe habits are much more rigid and fixed as compared to opinions which can be easily modified at times. Therefore, people should be much more careful in adopting any habit than they are while making an opinion about something.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you disagree that habits commonly change with age, while agreeing that opinions can change. Both sides are supported with relevant examples, especially nail-biting and changing views about cooking oils, and the conclusion returns to your main distinction. This meets the task well. To strengthen the response further, develop the reasoning behind the examples rather than relying on broad claims such as habits becoming “stronger” as people age or mature people changing opinions when they encounter new facts. Explain why these changes are typical, and acknowledge that some people do alter habits or retain opinions despite new evidence. That would make the support more fully developed and less generalised.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your contrasting views, two body paragraphs discuss habits and opinions respectively, and the final paragraph summarises your position. Linking phrases such as “On the contrast” and “Summarizing the discussion” make the structure easy to follow, and the examples are placed in the relevant paragraphs. Some connections are less smooth or precise, however. “On the contrast” is an awkward transition, and the shift from the general claim about opinions to the cooking-oil example could be explained more explicitly. The conclusion also introduces advice about adopting habits, which is related but not fully prepared by the preceding discussion. More natural transitions and clearer links between claims and examples would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a reasonably varied vocabulary, including topic-relevant terms such as “cultivated,” “subconsciously,” “incorporated,” and “modified,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts at more sophisticated phrasing, such as “casts its shadow” and “fat-soluble vitamins.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “a hobby” for nail-biting, “sets its foot,” “itss harmful effects,” and “glorious perks.” Spelling errors such as “subconciously” and “itss” also reduce precision. This range and ambition are evident, but more reliable collocations and careful proofreading are needed for stronger lexical control. Prefer direct, natural expressions over elaborate phrases when the latter do not fit the context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including subordinate clauses such as “once the habit sets its foot” and “based on the new facts that they discover.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. For example, “as the people age” uses an unnecessary article, while “Opinion about healthy cooking oils … was based” has an awkward singular construction and unclear sentence structure. In “Time and the knowledge or information pool … casts,” the compound subject requires a plural verb, and the long sentence about cooking oils is difficult to control. Review articles, subject–verb agreement, and sentence boundaries, and divide complex examples into shorter sentences. This would make your varied structures more accurate and easier to read.

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