Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-15

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)

Most human have natural tendency to judge their living comfort in relative comparison to the past to see how far they evolved and an immediate denial of experiencing struggles again which make them believe on this argument. But, I stand on the other side contradicting that best time to live is the present only not the past nor the future.

In the race of life running behind the ambition and desires, many people lost touch with the present worrying about the shortcomings in their life. Surely, looking back in the history with the invention of electricity, state of the art technological advancement, travel in aeroplanes to any part of the world in hours would not be possible before. On the contrary what they have is unity, love, culture and tradition which has been lost in the capitalism of the world.

If the current time is been observed in the future then the today's struggle will feel human say this exact argument. As we will keep evolving from generations to generations with new innovation and advancements. Depicting future is impossible and comprehending of what we are missing today makes the ecstasy of the life. Our brains are now wired with the norms around what some elite capitalist have modeled in the meeting rooms to keep us in the fight of money among other's.

I would love to live in the 80's where money was not introduced and bartending currency was channeled to reciprocate helps and needs. That way we dont fight among ourselves on money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a recognisable opinion that the present is not necessarily the best time to live, and you offer reasons involving technology, social values and money. You also answer the second question by choosing the 1980s. However, the position is difficult to follow: the opening says the present is “not the past nor the future,” while the first paragraph also appears to challenge the claim that now is best. The discussion of earlier social unity is relevant but not explained with a clear example, and the claim that money “was not introduced” in the 80s is historically inaccurate and weakens your support. Develop a consistent position, explain why your chosen era would be interesting, and use accurate, specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has separate paragraphs for general views, present-day life, the future and your preferred historical period, so there is some organisation. However, the ideas do not build into a clear overall progression. For example, the opening moves from people comparing life with the past to a claim about the present, but the relationship between these points is unclear. Connectors such as “On the contrary” and “If the current time is been observed in the future” do not clearly show how the ideas relate, and the final paragraph introduces the 1980s without linking this choice to the earlier discussion. Use a clearer sequence—state your view, support it, then explain your chosen era—and make references between paragraphs explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “technological advancement,” “capitalism,” “generations” and “innovation,” which helps convey ideas about social change. There are also some less natural or inaccurate choices, such as “judge their living comfort,” “state of the art technological advancement,” and “bartending currency,” which make parts of the meaning difficult to interpret. “Ecstasy of the life” is also an awkward expression in this context. These attempts show adequate range, but greater control of collocation and precise word choice would make your argument clearer. Prefer familiar, accurate phrases where you are unsure, and check that each expression conveys the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both longer sentences and shorter statements, but control is uneven, and errors sometimes make the relationships between ideas hard to understand. For example, “Most human have natural tendency” has problems with plural agreement and articles, while “If the current time is been observed in the future” uses an incorrect verb construction. The sentence beginning “In the race of life running behind…” also lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are some attempts to connect clauses, but complex sentences are often not controlled well enough to communicate the point smoothly. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly formed subordinate clause, and check agreement, articles and verb forms when editing.

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.