Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-31

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)

People have different views about elder persons. A number of people argue that the governments face several problems due to an ageing population, while others think that it is more useful for our society. In this essay, I discuss advantages and disadvantages of ageing people, and I also examine why advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

There are a number of reasons why some people believe that older people create problems for the government. One possible reason is that it increases the population size, which is why the government faces various problems. This is because when ageing people rise in the society, they need various kinds of daily necessities like food, medicines, clothes, and houses. To fulfil this demand, the government has to allocate a large amount of money. For example, from a Bangladesh perspective, there are many old people. The government of Bangladesh spends a large proportion of money to take care of them.

However, despite the disadvantages mentioned above, an ageing population has several benefits as well. First of all, they provide their experience to develop society because younger people are less experienced compared to the older people. That's why sometimes they give wise advice to freshers who are not good at doing something. For instance, my grandfather was a great businessman and he achieved various success in his business career. When my father started this business, he faced some issues because of his lack of experience and lost a huge amount of money. After that, he took some advice from my grandfather and according to his advice, he was able to overcome this problem in a short time.

In conclusion, Although ageing populations have some disadvantages, I believe that their advantages outweigh the disadvantages because they are more expert than younger people for different purposes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing both sides of the argument and a clear personal position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The argument regarding the economic burden on the government is a bit simplistic, and the benefits are primarily focused on personal experience rather than broader societal impacts. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the societal implications, such as the role of the elderly in volunteerism or the preservation of cultural heritage, rather than relying solely on a personal anecdote about a grandfather. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments lack depth and academic breadth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'First of all', and 'For instance', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the logical progression within paragraphs is more sophisticated. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You use basic terms like 'elder persons' and 'various problems' repeatedly. While you attempt some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'allocate a large amount of money', there is a lack of more sophisticated collocations or idiomatic expressions. To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to demographics and social policy. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'ageing people rise in the society', which would be better expressed as 'the proportion of elderly individuals increases'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'achieved various success' (should be 'achieved success' or 'had various successes') and 'more expert than younger people for different purposes'. Punctuation is generally accurate, but there are minor issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. You have attempted complex sentences, but they are not always error-free. Increasing the variety of your sentence structures and focusing on subject-verb agreement will help improve your score in this criterion.

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