Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-26

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)

The history of human mankind has gone though multiple stages, such as stone-age, industrialization, and today's modern world that is at the peak of digitalization and AI. I personally believe it is the best time to live in because of modern technology and internationally enforced laws and systems.

Distance in the today's modern world matters much less than the earlier times. The world has become a global city, whereby families are scattered across the globe because of educational or business purposes. Such families remain in close contact with each other by leveraging the use of modern transport and communication systems. For instance, mobile phones have replaced the traditional communication system of letter writing, and airplanes have replaced hectic old method of transportation. Therefore, for an individual living in the modern world, would not be able to imagine a world without these technological perks.

Another reason for living in current era is the advancement of mankind in medical field. Mankind has discovered treatment of many diseases which were not curable earlier, for example, treatment of malaria and measles is now curable, while in the past, many people have died with these diseases. Technology has also taken a leap towards now digital treatment of cancer, and better devices are manufactured to control and prevent diabetes.

On the contrary, if I would have to choose to live in an era in the past, I would prefer to live in pre industrialization era. That era of history is considered pollution free. Additionally, industrialization brought a sense of unspoken competition, so people living in that part of history must be free of martialism and rich of spirituality. and consequently, people had more free time to chill out and spend out with family and friend..

In conclusion, each era of history has equipped humanity with more knowledge and information. If someone has to choose knowledgeable and digital world, present era is the best to live in; however, a safer environment and more time for family and friends requires to go back to pre industrial era.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the two-part prompt successfully. You present a clear position that the present is the best time to live due to technology and laws, and you also answer the second part of the prompt by selecting the pre-industrial era as an interesting historical alternative. Your ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as mobile phones, airplanes, and medical advancements. However, some arguments could be extended further. For instance, the discussion on the pre-industrial era briefly touches upon pollution-free environments and spirituality but remains slightly underdeveloped compared to the thoroughness of the first two body paragraphs. Overall, the task is covered well with a clear overarching stance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is logically organised into a standard introduction, three distinct body paragraphs addressing the prompt questions, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'For instance', 'Another reason', and 'On the contrary'. However, paragraphing and sentence transitions occasionally feel mechanical or slightly awkward, as seen in the isolated and somewhat abrupt sentence structure in 'and consequently, people had more free time to chill out and spend out with family and friend..'. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional minor cohesion glitches prevent the flow from reaching a higher band. Overall, the arrangement provides a coherent reading experience.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'digitalization', 'global city', and 'pre-industrialization era'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'history of human mankind' (redundant), 'treatment of malaria and measles is now curable' (malaria and measles are diseases, not treatments), 'martialism' (intended materialism), and 'spend out' (spend time). There are also minor punctuation and spelling issues in vocabulary. While these errors do not impede communication, they restrict your lexical score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied grammatical structures (e.g., relative clauses with 'whereby' and conditional structures like 'if I would have to choose'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'gone though' (through), 'Distance in the today's modern world', 'for an individual living in the modern world, would not be able to imagine', and 'if I would have to choose'. Punctuation errors, such as double periods at the end of the fourth paragraph and incomplete sentence capitalization, also occur. These errors occasionally cause slight hesitation for the reader.

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