Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-22

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)

It is often argued that this is the best era to live in. This essay will address both questions before presenting my perspective where appropriate.

I am convinced with this argument that it is the best time to survive. This is because in modern world, people have a considerable number of facilities coupled with technological development. Nowadays, people have a colossal opportunity for transportation, social media, electronic devices, and educational institutions as compared to the past generations. Life becomes more convenient, while communication is as faster as a flash. For example, social media allows the people to get news in seconds globally. Therefore, these contemporary years brings substantial benefits to the individuals, proving to be one of the best time periods.

Nevertheless, the historic eras were one of the interesting time zones. People had a quality of time to spend with family, involved in their traditional and cultural behaviors and have creative minds. They were not dependent on ready-made foods and other activities. Their routine physical activity allowed them to maintain their health wellness. They were free of financial burdens as their lives were not complicated. For example, people in past generations lived for long years without having health problems because of the good quality food and exercise. Consequently, in the past , people had a good lifestyles and mind-blowing activities as compared to new generations.

In conclusion, although modern technology makes people life comfortable and swifter in communication, the golden era, where people were healthier and ecofriendly environment, cannot be underestimated.

AI examiner evaluation

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 a suggestion for another interesting era. However, the development is somewhat superficial. While you mention modern facilities and historical simplicity, the arguments lack depth and specific, well-supported examples. For instance, the claim that people in the past lived for 'long years' without health problems is a broad generalization that lacks factual grounding. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are fully extended with more nuanced reasoning and concrete evidence rather than relying on sweeping statements about the past or present.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Nevertheless', 'Therefore', and 'In conclusion' to link sentences and paragraphs. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the phrase 'interesting time zones' to refer to historical eras. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between ideas could be smoother. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the transition between your personal opinion and the historical analysis is more logically integrated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including some ambitious choices like 'colossal', 'contemporary', and 'underestimated'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'best time to survive' (instead of 'live'), 'quality of time' (instead of 'leisure time'), and 'mind-blowing activities'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your expression. To move up, focus on learning common collocations and using words in their correct context rather than choosing synonyms that sound sophisticated but do not fit the specific meaning required.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is a positive step. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'these contemporary years brings' (subject-verb agreement), 'as faster as a flash' (incorrect comparative structure), and 'people life' (missing possessive). There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that comparative structures are formed correctly.

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

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