Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-26

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)

Many people say that now is the best time to be alive and live in this world while some have an opinion that there is used to be better times in the past. In my view, the current time has much more to offer, with great technology and modern infrastructure.

One argument of to support that is the technology. The possibilities are endless and rapidly increasing as well. Be in the field transportation, medicine, research or ease of life in general. With the modern technology, things have advanced over the years. For instance, the mobile phone and internet. With it, people can communicate with their loved ones immediately. The medical science has improved drastically and we now have cure to many diseases or problem that we were not even aware about in the past.

Moreover, with the advancement in infrastructure and transportation, we can now travel to different country or region in a few hours. This has only become possible a few decades ago. Prior to that, people used to travel over ships that would take months to cover the same distance. In contrast, a trip from the UK to Pakistan now take mere 7 hours.

On the other hand, some people argue that with these advancements, life has become too fast and sometimes people wonder if there was a better time to live in history. Mainly because the early times were rather simpler and more connected towards the nature. People did not really have to worry about much about their physical appearance to this extent that they do now because of social media.

While I acknowledge that the earlier times were not that chaotic, the ease modern technology has offered is far superior. The level of comfort people have in their lives now, could not have been made possible and the change is inevitable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you believe the present is preferable because of technology, medicine, infrastructure and travel. You support this with relevant examples, including instant communication and the UK–Pakistan journey, and you acknowledge the counterargument that earlier life was simpler. However, the task is only partially addressed because the second question asks which other historical period would be interesting to live in, and you do not identify a specific period. The discussion of earlier times remains general, and the reasons for preferring the present are not always fully explained—for example, the point about medical progress could be developed with a specific example. Address both questions directly and extend each main idea.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: it introduces your view, gives two supporting paragraphs, considers an opposing view, and ends with a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “On the other hand,” and “While I acknowledge” help signal the direction of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The opening contrasts people’s views but does not clearly set up the second part of the task, and “One argument of to support that” interrupts the flow. The paragraph about earlier times also needs a clearer link to the question of which period you would choose. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s purpose and make references such as “these advancements” precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “modern infrastructure,” “advancement,” “medical science,” and “chaotic.” These choices allow you to discuss technology, travel and changing lifestyles, and the meaning is generally clear. There are also some inaccurate or unnatural word choices and collocations, such as “ease of life,” “cure to many diseases,” and “connected towards the nature.” Repetition of broad terms such as “things” and “times” limits precision. Aim for more natural topic-specific phrasing, and check whether nouns and verbs combine idiomatically. For example, you could describe improved access to healthcare and say that people were more closely connected to nature.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including contrast clauses such as “While I acknowledge that the earlier times were not that chaotic…” and a relative clause in “diseases or problem that we were not even aware about.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “there is used to be better times,” “One argument of to support that,” and “a trip … now take,” which show problems with verb forms and agreement. There are also errors with articles, plurals and sentence construction, as in “different country or region” and the fragment “Be in the field transportation…” Review verb agreement and article use, and turn incomplete phrases into full sentences while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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

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