Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-29
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 the contemporary era, many people believe that now a days life expectancy has been increased than ever, thus it creates problem for the government. while others believe that elderly people are beneficial for a society. However, i strongly believe that, having elder people in our society is an advantage for us.
On the one hand, many people believe that elderly people are burden of a society. As they are not productive like younger people, thus they are unable to add any values to the society. For instance, a large number of elderly people have to rely on pension scheme from the government. Consequently, it puts more pressure on government's expenditure patterns. Rather, this money could be allocated for the research and development to find out the provable solutions for our existing problems such as environmental pollution.
Going toward the second school of thought, i firmly believe that elderly people's presence add more values in our daily life. For instance, i will always prefer a doctor who as a lot of experiences in Medical sector, rather than going to a young doctor. Moreover, professionals in different sectors such as from Engineering, Architecture, Science play a vital role to increase the overall efficiency and productivity of a nation. Furthermore, being a nuclear scientist is not cup of tea of anyone. To become that a person must to has go through a lot experiences.
To sum up, i would like to say that without having elderly people neither a society, nor a country can make any progress. Their presence in our life in inevitable.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| 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 disadvantages are explained with a focus on economic burden, the advantages are supported by examples that are slightly repetitive (focusing primarily on professional experience). To reach a higher band, the argument regarding the benefits of an aging population could be expanded to include social or cultural contributions, rather than just professional expertise. The conclusion is a bit abrupt and does not fully synthesize the points made, though the overall stance remains consistent.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'Consequently', and 'Moreover', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Going toward the second school of thought'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sides of the argument, which helps the overall structure.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'contemporary era' and 'inevitable', but there are also instances of awkward phrasing or word choice, such as 'not cup of tea of anyone' and 'provable solutions'. Some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'burden of a society' instead of 'burden on society'. The range is sufficient to communicate the message, but lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the government', 'a society'), subject-verb agreement ('a person must to has go through'), and punctuation. Some sentences are clunky, such as 'now a days life expectancy has been increased than ever'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the meaning, they are frequent enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of the writing. A greater focus on proofreading for basic grammatical rules would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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