Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
In many parts of the world, people are now living longer than ever before. Some peple believes that an aging habitants creates problems for the government .But I believe that the adavntages of having aging population can outweigh the disadvantages not only beacuse of they are more experienced and acknowledged and family supporters but also because of they contributes for society.
An aging population can bring several benifits to society. Firstly, one major advantage is the valuable experience and knowledge taht older people have gained throughout their lives. As they can share their skills and advice with younger generations, which can help young people make better decisions in their personal and professional lives. For example,Japan hold the 45% population of aging people. In Japan ,many elderly people have valuable knowledge and professional knowledge,which they can pass on the younger genratons through teaching, mentoring and sharing practical skills.
Secondly, another benefit is that aging people can provide suporrt to their familes. As grandparents often help look after young children while there parents are working. This can reduce the pressure on working parents and allow them to focus on thier careers. In contrast, the survey was held in Germany in 2025, the outcomes of survey was that many grandparents helped with childcare, allowing working to parents to manage their jobs and family responsilities more easily.
Finally, a large elderly population can encourge governments and communities to improve healthare and public services. Thses improvements can benefit not only older people but also the wider population .
Overall, an aging population can provide society with experience , family support and also valuable contributions , making it beneficial in several ways.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the problems and benefits of an aging population, and clearly states an opinion in the introduction that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are extended with examples, such as mentioning Japan and Germany, although some supporting details contain factual inaccuracies or awkward generalisations, like stating that 'Japan hold the 45% population of aging people'. The position remains clear throughout the essay, and the main arguments concerning experience, family support, and community improvements are sufficiently developed to meet the requirements of a Band 6.5 descriptor profile, leaning toward Band 6 for under-developed support in places.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Finally'. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition between sentences in the second paragraph is disrupted by a sentence fragment starting with 'As they can share...', which hampers the smooth logical flow. Additionally, referencing pronouns like 'there' instead of 'their' occasionally causes minor confusion. Overall, the logical progression is present, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'acknowledged', 'mentoring', and 'responsibilities'. However, there are frequent spelling errors and word-choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'peple', 'habitants', 'adavntages', 'beacuse', 'contributes', 'taht', 'genratons', 'suporrt', 'familes', 'there parents', and 'encourge'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5, which rounds to a Band 6 for adequate task coverage, though strictly many errors place it at Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several major grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'Some peple believes', sentence fragments such as 'As they can share their skills...', and punctuation or preposition errors. For example, 'allowing working to parents' contains a misplaced word. While the meaning remains generally understandable, the frequency of grammatical and mechanical errors prevents the response from achieving a higher band. The grammar reflects a typical Band 5.0 to 5.5 performance.
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