Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-15
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 multiple countries, individual are now living longer than ever before. Certain people say that an aging population creates problem for governments. While others argue that there are benefits if community has large number of elderly people. I strongly believe that advantages of having an elderly people outweigh the disadvantages.
One perspective is that, there are several advantages of having older people in society. They bring smiles to the community whenever they pass. In addition, they support the society during their hardships emotionally and financially. For example, if something bad manifested in the society they handle the situation through their experience. Furthermore, elderly people additionally contribute into charity and donation and also gives guidance to young generation in their carrier. For instance, the money they earned or saved in their entire life they contribute that money into poor households and orphanages meanwhile giving them a guidance by which they can become successful in their lives.
From another perspective, there are also limited drawbacks for governments because of the population which is growing rapidly in multiple countries. In India census report shows that there are 1.4 billion individuals living in India and about 50% are elderly people although the countries are becoming more crowded and giving young individuals no chance in professional life as well
In conclusion, elderly people have several advantages in living in a society which helps young generation to built a strong career by their guidance and support but there are few noticeable drawbacks that creates difficulties for governments
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of an aging population. However, the development of ideas is limited. The arguments regarding the benefits are somewhat vague, relying on general statements like 'they bring smiles' rather than substantive socio-economic analysis. The counter-argument regarding government challenges is underdeveloped and contains factual inaccuracies, such as the claim that 50% of India's population is elderly, which undermines the credibility of the argument. While a position is stated, the supporting points lack the depth required for a higher band score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'From another perspective' is used, but the subsequent paragraph fails to clearly link the 'drawbacks' to the government's perspective as promised in the introduction. Additionally, some sentences are poorly connected, such as the final sentence of the second paragraph, which lacks a clear logical flow. The progression of ideas is present but often feels disjointed.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'something bad manifested in the society' and 'built a strong career by their guidance'. The student relies on basic vocabulary and struggles with collocations. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated or topic-specific terminology limits the score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('individual are', 'elderly people... gives guidance'), article usage ('the society', 'a guidance'), and pluralization ('creates problem'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to demonstrate a lack of control over complex structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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