Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-21

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 6.5)

In many nations, the life span of citizens has Increased compared to before. Some individuals argue that aging populations create a burden for the governments. Others think this is beneficial to the society. The benefit of having aging population surpasses the dismerit because aged people contribute intellectually to problem solving, the nation will make use of the depth their knowledge, wisdom and experience. In addition, having aged older citizens help preserve culture and history. Although when there are many older people, the dependence ratio to independence ratio will be high.

Everyone has a right to life and dignity regardless of age, gender and socioeconomic factors, and the geriatric are not left behind. The government has a role to preserve, protect and attend to the needs of the older citizen. When we have older people around helps the nation problem solving because they contribute intellectually and make use of their experiences they have gathered in different phases of life. This would Include their problem solving skills, they have been involved in various things through their years in life, the wisdom, knowledge and experiences they have gathered will be used when needed. For example, during the Okeagbe war, it was the elderly amongst them that pointed them to where they could hide and this is because they have experienced war in the past, they then used their experience to solve a problem.

Furthermore, the older people help preserve and transfer cultural heritage from one generation to another. Older citizen teach the younger ones about culture and they are Integral part of socialization. When there is a reduction in life expectancy, many of our cultures will be lost. For instance, the grandparents would always teach their grand kids about the lifestyle, dressing, the type of food consumed in their culture whereas the younger parents may not take this as necessary. These above reasons overweighs the high dependence ratio.

In conclusion, having older citizens around is a blessing to a nation rather than a curse. They Contribute from their wealth of experience and knowledge. Lastly, they help to preserve cultural heritage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of an aging population and taking a clear position that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. The introduction and conclusion clearly state this stance. Main ideas are presented and supported with relevant explanations and examples, such as the mention of older individuals passing down historical knowledge and assisting communities during conflicts like the Okeagbe war. While some ideas, such as the discussion on the dependence ratio, are slightly underdeveloped and could benefit from further elaboration, the core arguments remain relevant and coherent throughout. Overall, the performance aligns well with Band 6.5 to 7.0 standards, and considering the positive marking approach, a band score of 6.5 is well justified.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation, moving from an introductory thesis to distinct body paragraphs focusing on intellectual contributions and cultural preservation, followed by a summary conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Furthermore', 'Although', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the argument, though some referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as 'These above reasons overweighs'. Despite some minor clunkiness in transitions, the overall arrangement is coherent and progresses logically from start to finish, meeting the criteria for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully attempting less common terms such as 'socioeconomic factors', 'geriatric', 'cultural heritage', and 'dependence ratio'. However, there are noticeable word choice inaccuracies and collocation slips, such as 'dismerit' instead of 'disadvantage', 'help the nation problem solving' instead of 'help the nation with problem solving', and 'older citizen teach' instead of 'older citizens teach'. Spelling and word formation errors occasionally surface, but they do not impede overall communication. The lexical control sits firmly within the Band 6.0 territory.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating clauses with 'although', 'when', and relative pronouns. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, featuring frequent errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('having aged older citizens help', 'These above reasons overweighs'), missing articles ('helps the nation problem solving'), and run-on structures like comma splices ('When we have older people around helps the nation problem solving because...'). While these errors do not completely obscure meaning, they occur regularly across the text, preventing the essay from achieving a higher band. The grammar performance reflects a solid Band 6.0.

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