Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
Nowadays, many countries are experiencing that individuals are living longer than ever before. Few individuals argue that an increase in age creates more problems for governments, whereas others believe that there are advantages if the community has more older people. I believe that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, which will be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs.
To begin with, one major advantage of older people in society is experience. Older people transfer their well-known experience to the younger generation. It helps in increasing the knowledge of young people. Moreover, it also leads to less struggle for the young generation to learn something. For example, a student nurse is working in the hospital as an intern. So by asking different questions to the head nurse, students can develop practical skills as well as theory, because the head nurse has a lot of experience in that particular field.
Furthermore, another benefit of older people in society is their caring nature. They take care of their family members as well as their children. They teach children about good and bad habits and manners. Especially if parents are busy with their work, grandparents take care of their grandchildren while providing the basic needs of life. For example, both parents are working in the company to fulfil the activities of daily living, then at that time grandparents take care of their grandchildren all day.
However, there are some drawbacks to having older people in society, such as the government have to invest more in healthcare to take care of older people.
However, there are some drawbacks to having older people in society, such as the government have to invest more in healthcare to take care of older people.
To conclude, there are several advantages of elderly people, such as they provide experience to the young generation, also they take care of their family members as well as children. Because they have a caring nature. There are some drawbacks to older people, such as an increase in the cost of government on healthcare as the government have to spend more on health insurance.
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 and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the advantages are supported with examples, the discussion of the disadvantages is significantly underdeveloped, consisting of only one sentence. To reach a higher band, the disadvantages need to be explored with the same level of detail and supporting evidence as the advantages. The conclusion is also repetitive, merely restating points without synthesising them effectively. The response covers all parts of the task, but the imbalance in depth between the pros and cons limits the score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'Furthermore' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. Additionally, there is a noticeable error in the text where a paragraph is accidentally duplicated, which disrupts the flow and indicates a lack of careful proofreading. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure could be improved by ensuring that the transition between the advantages and disadvantages is smoother and more balanced.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'intern', 'healthcare', and 'health insurance'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is a reliance on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'older people' and 'take care of'. To improve, the student should incorporate more precise synonyms and collocations related to the topic of aging populations, such as 'demographic shift', 'intergenerational knowledge transfer', or 'fiscal burden'. The word choice is generally accurate, but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the government have to invest' instead of 'the government has to invest') and article usage. Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'experiencing that individuals are living longer'. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. A greater variety of complex structures, used with higher accuracy, would be necessary to achieve a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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