Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-10
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 5.0)
It is irrefutably true that teenagers are backbone of a country. A section of society believes that all teenagers should be required to do unpaid work in their free time which can help to local community. They think that it can be beneficial for both society and teenager. I completely agree with this statement. This essay will discuss the points in the following paragraphs.
To begin with, there are tremendous reasons why it will be beneficial for both if teenagers should do unpaid work in their free time. The first and the foremost reason is that Community work can be beneficial for teenagers. By volunteer work, young people can learn various important skills such as teamwork, communication skills, responsibility and time management. so, it can be beneficial for them in their future life and career. For example, youngsters can be help in local food banks, cleaning public parks and gardens and also help the older people. These things can teach them how to do work with different type of people. Not only this but also it can help to enhance their confidence.
Secondly, Volunteer work can also help to the society. Local communities need help of teenagers to do a lot of activities such as clean public parks and gardens, helping older people and support the charity works. If young people contribute their free time, it will be helpful to do these activities easily. Moreover, it can also help to encourage young people about their neighborhood and also help to become a responsible member of a society.
To conclude, I agree with this notion that teenagers should do volunteer work in their free time because it can help them to teach various skills in their life which are beneficial for them in the future. This task can be helpful for both individual teenager and also a local community.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 3.0
The response fails to address the prompt provided. The task asks for an opinion on whether 'now is the best time in history to be living' and to discuss 'what other time in history would be interesting to live in'. Instead, the essay discusses whether teenagers should be required to do unpaid community work. Because the response is entirely off-topic, it does not address the requirements of the task at all. While the ideas are developed within the context of the wrong topic, the failure to engage with the actual prompt results in a very low score for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There is a logical progression of ideas within the context of the chosen (incorrect) topic. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'The first and the foremost reason', and 'Secondly' are used to link ideas, although some transitions are slightly mechanical. Despite the complete irrelevance to the prompt, the internal structure of the writing is coherent and easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, though it is somewhat repetitive and lacks sophistication. Phrases like 'tremendous reasons', 'beneficial for both', and 'important skills' are used correctly but are quite basic. There are some minor errors in collocation, such as 'help to local community' (should be 'help the local community') and 'encourage young people about their neighborhood'. The range is sufficient to express simple ideas clearly, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'teenagers are backbone of a country' (missing article), 'youngsters can be help in local food banks' (incorrect verb form), and 'help to the society' (unnecessary preposition). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent and demonstrate a lack of control over complex structures. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence-level accuracy is inconsistent.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.