Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05
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)
Many people are of the opinion, that present period is among the best time in history to live. In my opinion, although current period can be regarded as exceptional due to the technological advancements, the best time was hundred years ago when people were not distracted by digital devices.
On the one hand, people agrue that current period is the best time of history to live. Furthermore, we are blessed to be living in this era, due to considerable advancements in technology. These innovations have completely manipulated the way people live today, thereby, making it one of the best time in history. For instance, the development of artificiallly intelligent robots have made our life convenient as compared to the past.
However, in my opinion, people were living much better lives hundred years ago because of few or no technological devices. People nowdays are busy using these devices and have left there culutral and scocial norms. Consequently, social face-to-face interaction is lowering at an extreme level today. In the past, people used to stay connected through physcial means, and children used to learn their culture their moral values. For instance, our grandparents used to enjoy dinner with their family and freinds regularly.
To conlcude, while present period can be considered the best time of history due to high technological developments, the past years with less negative impacts of these technological devices, could be considered one of the best time of the history.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, expressing an opinion on whether the present is the best time to live and suggesting an alternative historical period. However, the length requirement is not met, as the text contains only 241 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum. While the ideas are relevant, some parts of the response remain under-developed. For example, the mention of artificial intelligence is superficial and lacks specific elaboration beyond a general statement that it makes life convenient. The position is generally clear, but the limited development of ideas prevents a higher evaluation. To improve, you need to ensure you write at least 250 words and expand further on your main arguments with detailed supporting examples.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, two body paragraphs, and the conclusion. There is a logical progression of ideas, moving from the acknowledgement of technological advancements to the counter-argument about the past. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'Furthermore' in the second paragraph is used inappropriately because it introduces a counter-point rather than adding a supporting idea to the previous sentence. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in the third paragraph. To reach a higher band, cohesive devices must be managed more naturally and referencing kept consistently precise throughout.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the writer's perspective. There are attempts to use less common items and topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'technological advancements' and 'face-to-face interaction'. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors occur, such as 'agrue', 'artificially' (spelled 'artificlly'), 'culutral', 'scocial', and 'physcial'. Collocations are occasionally awkward, as seen in 'lowering at an extreme level'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the score. To improve, you should broaden your vocabulary range and pay closer attention to spelling and accurate word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over basic structures. However, a limited range of structures is evident, and attempts at complex sentences often contain errors. There are frequent grammatical mistakes regarding articles, prepositions, and agreement, such as 'present period is among the best time' (missing articles and pluralisation issues), 'best time of history', and 'left there culutral and scocial norms' (incorrect pronoun usage). Punctuation errors also appear, including unnecessary commas like 'opinion, that'. These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, you must increase the accuracy of your complex sentence patterns and minimize basic grammatical lapses.
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