Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-21

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)

A few people state that the contemporary time is the best time to be living. Many people have the same idea, but many others reject this notion, and they eagerly described the benefits of living in past. In my opinion the former perspective is more rational, and this essay will elaborate my opinion.

First and foremost, the benefit to live in this era is the technological advancements which have made our life very comfortable. There are a lot of digital tools from smart devices to simple household appliances which has made our life significantly convenient. The AI tools integrated with drones and ground robots can easily detect the hazards of burning place, which was very dangerous and life threatening a few decades before.

Another striking benefit is the advancements in health sector and businesses such as inventions of many latest technologies and medicines. Now cure of diseases is more authentic than the past, leading to the increased lifespan. Probing further, transportation is also improving day by day. Now businesses have more opportunities to make informed decisions and make progress which leads to the robust economy of societies and countries. In the education sector, there are many facilities for the students to make their own learning plate form and enhance the academic skills, due to instant access to internet.

On the other hand, many orthodox and nostalgic people still tend to remember the past and want to live in the past realm with minimum facilities.

To recapitulate, it is proved that the contemporary era is more beneficial to live and enjoy one's life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The candidate attempts to address the prompt by giving their opinion that the contemporary era is the best time to live, citing technological advancements, health sector improvements, and better education facilities. However, the essay has a notable omission: it completely fails to answer the second part of the prompt, which asks "What other time in history would be interesting to live in?". Because one of the two explicit task questions is entirely ignored, the response cannot be awarded a band score above 6.0 according to the band descriptors. Furthermore, the discussion of the alternative historical time is replaced with a single brief sentence mentioning 'orthodox and nostalgic people'. Ideas are relevant but remain somewhat under-developed due to the missing section of the prompt. Therefore, the task response is partially addressed, leading to a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay displays some overall organization with a clear introduction and conclusion, though the central body paragraphs lack clear progression and are somewhat lumped together. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First and foremost' and 'To recapitulate', but some transitions feel mechanical or abrupt. Paragraphing is attempted, but the main body lacks structured separation between different ideas, such as health, business, and education, which all appear crammed into a single large paragraph. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of balanced paragraphing and clear logical progression between points limits the overall coherence of the text, fitting the Band 5 descriptor where organization is present but overall progression is lacking.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'contemporary time', 'technological advancements', and 'robust economy'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as 'benefit to live' instead of 'benefit of living', 'burning place' instead of 'burning building', 'authentic' instead of 'effective' in relation to disease cures, and 'learning plate form' instead of 'learning platform'. These errors occasionally cause slight confusion for the reader, but the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic meaning, placing this criterion comfortably at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'There are a lot of digital tools... which has made our life significantly convenient.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement ('tools... which has made' instead of 'have made') and preposition use ('benefit to live' instead of 'benefit of living'). Punctuation and article usage also show frequent inaccuracies. While these errors do not completely obscure the message, they cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and demonstrate limited control over complex structures, corresponding to a Band 5.0 score.

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

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