Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-22

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 my opinion, there is no such thing as a disadvantage to having older people in a country. Rather, their presence brings a positive attitude to society, and they sometimes even come up with strong ideas that can help society or the country.

Older people make decisions based on their life experiences, which can be helpful in many ways, as it shows the direction and saves energy and time before taking the final step. For example, if a person wants to start a new clothing brand in a particular area, instead of randomly opening a shop, he first discussed it with the older people in the society. They gave him guidance about the location he would be choosing for his shop and the designs people like in that particular area. This whole discussion helped him select the right place and designs to get success in his business.

Older people play a vital role in the politics of society and country due to their strong decision-making power and knowledge. Additionally, they bring a strong sense of unity to society by giving examples of how people in history established their empires and how their enemies were unable to compete with them.

Older people are not a burden to society; rather, they are a treasure with so many struggles and secrets, and we should treat them with love and kindness. Instead of considering them a problem, they can be the problem solvers if we follow the way of guidance they taught us accordingly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to address the prompt regarding whether the advantages of an aging population outweigh the disadvantages, but the position is somewhat absolute at the beginning, stating that 'there is no such thing as a disadvantage to having older people in a country.' This lacks balance, as the prompt asks you to weigh advantages against disadvantages. Ideas are extended with some examples, such as the clothing brand scenario, but the arguments are rather narrow and tend to focus exclusively on benefits without genuinely acknowledging or refuting counter-arguments. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat under-developed in terms of macro-economic or societal impacts, relying heavily on anecdotal and individual examples rather than broader sociological trends. Therefore, the response aligns best with Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding thought. Paragraphing is used, though the body paragraphs are quite dense and could be broken down further to separate distinct points. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes in a somewhat mechanical or repetitive way, such as the repeated use of 'older people' at the beginning of consecutive sentences and paragraphs. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression from paragraph to paragraph could be smoother. For instance, the transition from business decisions to political roles is abrupt. These features place the response firmly in Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their ideas clearly. There are attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'life experiences,' 'decision-making power,' and 'treasure,' which show a reasonable range. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'to get success in his business' (instead of 'to achieve success') and 'the way of guidance they taught us accordingly.' Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, but the lack of more sophisticated phrasing and precise academic vocabulary keeps the lexical resource score at a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'if a person wants to start a new clothing brand...'. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('he first discussed' instead of 'he first discusses') and awkward phrasing like 'the way of guidance they taught us accordingly.' However, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear. The control of punctuation is generally acceptable. Because there is a reasonable mix of structures despite recurring errors, this performance satisfies the Band 6 descriptors.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.