Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-19

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 6.0)

In many parts of the world, people are now living longer than ever before. Some people believe having an ageing population can bring some issues for governments. Others think there are benefits of having more elderly people in society.

An ageing population creates many advantages. The first one is an experienced workforce and knowledge transfer. Older people have extensive professional and life experience. They can pass valuable knowledge, skills and practical advice to younger generations. For example, I usually talk to my grandfather whenever I feel like there is no solution for the problems I am facing. He always gives me useful advice which lighten my mind. Also, elderly people help with maintaining traditions as they are the ones who can share and teach younger generations about traditional activities, how to preserve and show gratitude to our ancestors.

Next, elderly people bring greater social stability. Older generations can contribute to our society through volunteering, mentoring or supporting their families. As we can see, nowadays, there are many elderly people who participate in some volunteering projects in hospitals to take care of patients, or help to look after their grandchildren. This can strengthen relations between generations.

Last but not least, an ageing population brings the growth of "silver economy". An ageing population creates greater demand for healthcare, tourism, leisure activities, and products designed for older consumers. This can create new occupations and business opportunities.

Although there are still some disadvantages related to higher healthcare costs or greater financial burden on younger generations, I believe that an ageing population brings more benefits and creates a better society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of an aging population, and presents a clear overall position at the end. The essay covers key advantages such as an experienced workforce, knowledge transfer, social stability, and the growth of the silver economy. Ideas are supported with relevant explanations and examples, such as the personal anecdote about the student's grandfather and the mention of volunteering projects in hospitals. However, the development of ideas leans towards listing multiple points rather than fully exploring the depth of each argument, and the counter-argument regarding disadvantages is acknowledged rather briefly in the final paragraph. Consequently, the response aligns well with the requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0, and a score of 6.5 is awarded.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct paragraphs for the introduction, individual body points focusing on different advantages (knowledge transfer, social stability, silver economy), and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed adequately, using signposts like 'The first one is', 'Next', 'Also', and 'Last but not least'. However, some of the referencing and transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the links between sentences could be smoother in places. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6.5, but due to minor mechanical linking and slight over-reliance on basic enumerative markers, a band score of 6.5 is appropriate.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'ageing population', 'knowledge transfer', 'social stability', 'volunteering projects', and the 'silver economy'. There are attempts to use less common items like 'extensive professional and life experience' and 'financial burden'. While word choice is generally clear and effective, there are some minor awkward phrasings, such as 'which lighten my mind' instead of 'which eases my mind'. Spelling and word-choice errors do not impede communication, placing the response solidly in the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range. A score of 6.5 is awarded based on the balance of adequate control and occasional minor inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The student successfully constructs relative clauses and conditional structures, alongside good control over basic grammatical structures. There are some minor grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('bring some issues' instead of 'bring some issues') and slight preposition or collocation slips ('bring the growth' instead of 'drive the growth'). However, these errors are relatively infrequent and do not impede communication. The majority of sentences are grammatically sound. This performance meets the descriptors for Band 6.5, showing good control over a mixed range of structures while retaining some recurring minor errors.

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