Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-05
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people say that now is the best time in history to be living.
What is your opinion about this?
What other time in history would be interesting to live in?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
Many humans believe that current time is the best time for living than the past. This essay will discuss about which time is the best for staying and also discuss my opinion.
According to my opinion this is the worst time for surviving and there are several reasons behind it. First of all, In the era of technology, It is impossible to get a job and also employees are getting fired because of accuracy and work efficiency of robots and artificial intelligence. As a result, the rate of unemployment has been increasing sharply and the share market is going is down day by day. For example, as per article of Times of India , the percentage of employment has increased 10% in 2025 in India because of AI.
However, the best time to live was in last century when there was no pollution and people were follow simple lifestyle. Although , technology and machines have made our life easy, It also damaged environment. Nowadays people are buying personal vehicals and reduce the usage of public transportation. As a result, the noise and air pollution has enhance on the earth and that is affect global warming. On the other hand , In the past , human used to believe in save environment and plant tress to get fresh air.
In conclusion, I believe that it is not best time to live because of technology and artificial intelligence as it steal jobs of employees. The best time was last century because human used public transport more than private and they also tried to save environment to get fresh air.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the opinion on whether this is the best time to live and the identification of another interesting historical period. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The argument regarding AI and unemployment is a relevant point, but the supporting example is confusingly phrased (stating employment increased due to AI, which contradicts the point about job loss). The second body paragraph regarding the 'last century' is quite general and lacks specific historical context or depth. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced explanations and ensure your examples clearly support your main arguments rather than contradicting them.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'However', 'As a result', and 'In conclusion' to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the transition 'Although , technology...' where the punctuation is incorrect. Additionally, the progression of ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences is occasionally interrupted by grammatical errors, which makes the overall logical progression feel a bit disjointed at times.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'best time', 'bad', and 'easy'. There are also some noticeable word-choice errors, such as 'staying' instead of 'living' and 'vehicals' (spelling error). Phrases like 'human used to believe in save environment' are awkward and demonstrate a lack of control over collocation. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary related to technology, history, and environmental issues, and ensure you check your spelling carefully.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include incorrect article usage ('the current time', 'the last century'), subject-verb agreement ('people were follow', 'human used'), and incorrect verb forms ('has enhance', 'is affect'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary commas and capitalization errors (e.g., 'In the era of technology, It is...'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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