Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18

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)

Some proponents believe that present time is golden time to live. I tottaly agree with this view as we are living in modern period where everything is just one touch away. However, I would like to live in Gupta time in ancient India to know about inventions of mathamatics and arts. This essay will elaborate on why present is best to live and also explain why I think Gupta period is best to live in if I get chance.

To start with, nowadays we are living with best technologies and best healthcare. Citizens never have to struggele with lights problems and water problems as every system is working on advance techniques. For example, Many countiries installed a water plants to provide clean and purified water to the public. All those systems are working with internet which can give important information regarding water level inside the land. There are very minimal chances of water shortage around the world. Secondly, people get connect with their relatives and loved ones very easily so they can talk to them whenever they want. These facilities help individuals to live comfortable.

I would like to go back and live into Gupta period in ancient India. I am very much interested to know, how mathamatics and art were invented?. Who invented those maths skills?. Gupta time was before 200 years ago. However, I read in the book that it was very challenging for ordinary people to survive because of lack of facilities. People were using banana leaves to make clothes. On the other side, I also read how intelligent they were. they used to do multiplication and summetions with their fingers and their art skills were very sharped. I will count my self lucky if I can get a chance to live like them.

To conculd, although present time give us all the required facilities to make our life comfortable, I believe history time were best too as all important inventions occured in Gupata time. Present time is very comfortable but history time had many essential skills to learn.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the task by stating a clear opinion on why the present era is the best and selecting the Gupta period as an interesting historical alternative. The student provides relevant ideas, such as technological and healthcare advancements for the present, and a desire to learn about ancient mathematics and arts for the past. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat superficial and lacks full elaboration. For instance, the explanation of the Gupta period relies heavily on general statements and misconceptions about timelines, stating 'Gupta time was before 200 years ago' instead of centuries. While all parts of the prompt are addressed and a position is maintained throughout, the supporting arguments require greater depth, specific historical details, and extension to fully satisfy the Band 7 descriptors. Therefore, a Band 6.0 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear overall progression and logical arrangement, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each prompt question, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate different ideas, such as the contrast between modern times and the ancient Gupta period. Cohesive devices are employed to link sentences and paragraphs, though some transitions are mechanical or repetitive, such as 'To start with,' 'Secondly,' and 'To conculd.' Additionally, referencing and logical flow occasionally falter, as seen in the abrupt transitions between sentences within the body paragraphs. Paragraphing and logical structure are generally maintained, but the mechanical nature of the cohesive devices and minor lapses in cohesion restrict the score to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully communicating ideas about modern technology ('healthcare', 'purified water', 'internet') and historical study ('mathematics', 'ancient'). However, there are numerous lexical errors, incorrect word forms, and spelling mistakes throughout the text, such as 'tottaly', 'mathamatics', 'struggele', 'countiries', 'conculd', and 'summetions'. The writer attempts less common vocabulary, but issues with spelling and word choice recur frequently and detract from the overall quality of the writing. Although these errors do not severely impede communication, their frequency prevents the response from achieving a higher band. Consequently, a Band 5.5 is awarded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting complex forms with varying degrees of success. Examples of complex sentences include 'Although present time give us all the required facilities to make our life comfortable, I believe history time were best too...' There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly concerning subject-verb agreement ('present time give', 'history time were'), missing articles ('in Gupta time', 'into Gupta period'), and tense inconsistencies. Punctuation errors also appear, such as unnecessary question marks within declarative clauses ('how mathamatics and art were invented?'). While these errors do not entirely obscure the meaning of the text, their persistence across different sentence types places the response firmly within the Band 5.0 range.

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