Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-02

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)

Change is law of nature. It is commonly believed that with passage of time, people grow older and change thier habits and opinions. I completly disagree with this notion because individuals become more sensitive and conservative as they age. Hence, it is hard for them to change thier thoughts and daily living activities. In this essay, I will present my point of view.

To commence with, when teenagers develop their new habits. These habits become their part of daily activities and stay in long term memory. They grow older and forget to do perfrom activities realted to short term memory but their habits remain with them. A recent study in nursing homes conducted by WHO reveals that people with dementia often forget basic activties as eating, bathing, communication but they always remember what they like to do. As a result, they carry their habits till the end of their age.

Moreover, old people are more conservative for their thoughts and opinions. They do not like any change. They struggled to deny change in their life and society. Sometimes it leads to generation gap and creates conflict among them. Their possesion for their language, cultures, heritage become more rigid. They often dislike liberal toughts and associated people too. That is why, people do not change their opinions as they grow olders.

In conclusion, although change is the natural phenomenon but people become more rigid and hard to convince when they age as they do not prefer any changes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you disagree that people commonly change their habits and opinions as they age, and both body paragraphs relate to that view. The discussion of habits and memory, followed by conservatism in opinions, gives the response a relevant structure. However, the support is not fully convincing or developed: the claim about a WHO study is broad and unexplained, and the link between dementia and people generally retaining habits needs clarification. The second paragraph also makes general claims about older people without a specific example. The response is 247 words, so it falls three words short of the required minimum. Develop the reasons with clearer explanation and a concrete example, while addressing the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, two paragraphs present separate reasons, and a conclusion restates your position. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “As a result,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The opening of the first body paragraph, “when teenagers develop their new habits,” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence, and the transition from memory to the claim that habits last until death is abrupt. In the second paragraph, “They struggled to deny change” does not clearly connect to the following claims. Improve progression by explaining how each example supports the paragraph’s main point and by using clearer references between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “conservative,” “generation gap,” “heritage,” and “liberal thoughts,” which helps communicate your argument about age and attitudes. There is also an attempt to use more formal phrasing, such as “the natural phenomenon.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning less clear: “possesion for their language” and “associated people” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “thier,” “completly,” and “toughts” are noticeable. Build a more precise vocabulary for discussing changing attitudes and habits, and check spelling and collocations carefully so your ideas are easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including a complex sentence beginning “because individuals become more sensitive and conservative as they age.” Some sentence boundaries and basic structures are controlled, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to interpret. For example, “when teenagers develop their new habits” is an incomplete sentence, while “They struggled to deny change” shifts tense without a clear reason. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and sentence construction, as in “although change is the natural phenomenon but people become more rigid.” Practise forming complete clauses and checking tense and agreement; then add complex structures only when their grammar is secure.

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