Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-24

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 6.5)

It is often argued that the increasing life expectancy of people has become a burden for governments. However, others maintain that elderly people are blessings for a society. I believe that the merits of having aging population totally exceed its demerits.

The presence of three generations in a single family creates a good bond between them, making each member feel and enjoy the company of one another. The presence of elderly people in the house provides mental support for every member. Moreover, amid the busy schedules of couples nowadays, grandparents are helping them with child caring activities. A research in Russia has found that children raised in a family with elderly people were more aware of traditional values and culture. This means elderly people are a connecting link for culture between the old and new generations. Everywhere around the world,, the scene of a grandfather and his grandson playing together fascinates everyone.

Admittedly, the cost for health and caring increases with the extended life span of people. Some people consider that there is no worth spending on elderly people by governments as they are the unproductive part of the population. Moreover, with age, frustration and irritation increase in them, making it difficult for family members to handle. Not only for others, living longer imparts a lot of difficulties for an old aged individual too since their body stops functioning properly. It is evident that across many parts of the world old aged people wish to die because of extreme sufferings they go through in their later ages of life.

Hence, despite several advantages of increasing life expectancy, its social and family advantages outweighs them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all parts of the prompt and maintained a clear position throughout the essay. Your ideas regarding family bonds and cultural transmission are relevant and well-supported. However, the development of the disadvantages is somewhat superficial; for instance, the claim that elderly people are 'unproductive' is a common generalization that could have been nuanced further. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting arguments are more thoroughly explored rather than just listed. Your conclusion clearly restates your position, which is a strength.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. You use cohesive devices such as 'However,' 'Moreover,' and 'Admittedly' to transition between paragraphs and points effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages from the disadvantages. While the flow is generally good, some of the linking is slightly mechanical. To improve, try to vary your cohesive devices further and ensure that the relationship between sentences is always explicit. Overall, the structure is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'life expectancy,' 'unproductive,' and 'traditional values' correctly. However, there are some instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'child caring activities' (better: 'childcare responsibilities') and 'old aged individual' (better: 'elderly person'). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, but there is room for more precision and sophistication to reach the higher bands. Focus on learning collocations to make your writing sound more natural and academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this level. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'the merits of having aging population' (missing an article: 'an aging population') and 'its social and family advantages outweighs them' (subject-verb agreement error: 'outweigh'). Punctuation is generally fine, though there is a double comma error in the second paragraph. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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