Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries, people are now living longer than ever before. Some people say an aging population creates problems for governments. Other people think there are benefits if society has more elderly people.

To what extent do the advantages of having an aging population outweigh the disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In recently as modern technologies continue to develop, most people can live more longer than earlier year of the human history. But some people believe that it create population and problems for governments, other side argue that it provide more benefit than disadvantage to have elderly people.

In companies, older individuals can give decades of life experiences by offering historical perspective and steady decision-making during crises. Senior citizens often act as pillars of support within families, providing childcare such as looking after grandchildren, voluntary community service, and social stability. However, if older individuals outweigh younger generation that would be big problem. Because a larger share of retirees can shrink the active labor force, slow down productivity growth, and reduce tax revenues needed to fund public services. For example, in Japan there are more senior citizen so government focused on attracting more talented immigrants to stay and work in their country to fill workforce. Furthermore, governments must invest more on healthcare because an aging population significantly increases public spending on healthcare, specialized facilities, long-term care, and state pensions, straining national budgets.

Without senior citizen, there would be risk at losing culture because it passed down by older individuals. For example, in early of human history people learnt culture and education from older people. Because that time they did not have easy accesses to information comparing to nowadays where people can learn anything from internet. So having older individuals have disadvantages but advantages outweigh them because without any culture it create big problem for governments to lose their identity of nation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: the cultural value of older people means you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Relevant benefits include family support, community service, and passing on culture; you also explain pressures on the workforce, tax revenue, healthcare, and pensions. The Japan example helps make the economic concern concrete. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the final claim that losing culture creates a major problem for governments would be stronger if you explained how older people preserve traditions and why this benefit outweighs the financial costs. Develop the comparison between advantages and disadvantages more explicitly to make your position more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall structure, moving from an introduction to disadvantages and benefits, and then to a conclusion. The contrast signalled by “However” and “Furthermore” helps readers follow the discussion. However, the progression is not always clear: the second body paragraph begins with cultural benefits, then shifts to historical access to information, and ends with a broad conclusion about national identity. The opening paragraph also combines the two sides in a sentence that is difficult to follow. Some links, such as repeated uses of “Because,” create abrupt or incomplete connections. Give each paragraph a clearer central purpose, use topic sentences to signal it, and connect examples directly to the point they support.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “active labor force,” “tax revenues,” “long-term care,” and “social stability.” These terms help communicate the economic and social dimensions of an aging population. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “historical perspective” and “pillars of support,” though some combinations are inaccurate or unnatural. Phrases such as “population and problems,” “more benefit than disadvantage,” and “easy accesses to information” make parts of the argument less precise. Aim for accurate collocations and word forms, and avoid repeating broad terms such as “problem” and “older individuals” when a more specific expression would clarify your meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional construction (“if older individuals outweigh younger generation”) and a relative clause (“which it passed down by older individuals”). Some sentences communicate detailed ideas successfully, particularly the sentence listing healthcare, care facilities, and pensions. However, errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries sometimes make the meaning harder to follow. For example, “it create population and problems” and “it provide more benefit” have subject–verb agreement problems, while “Because a larger share of retirees…” is a fragment. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and main verb, and make sure dependent clauses are attached to complete sentences.

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