Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-23

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 countries, owing to recent developments in healthcare and public welfare average life expectancy has increased. This has led to a growth in aging population.Though having elder people may have it's own social and cultural benefits, the disadvantages significantly outweigh them.

On one hand, having an aging population has it's own set of benefits. They contribute significantly by passing down their experiences and imparting us with their knowledge. It gives the younger generation an upper hand in dealing with several situations. They also help in preserving culture and tradition. Additionally, some of the elderly people choose to work even in their later years which contributes to the economy of the country. Increasing life expectancy symbolises better healthcare facilities and living conditions as well

However, increase in aging populating leads to several challenges as well. Firstly, the government has to allocate more funds towards healthcare, pension and social-care services. Whereas, the number of taxpayers will decrease. There is also an increase in dependent population as not all old people are fit enough to work. This leads to extra financial burden on younger generation as well as government. Growth in elderly people can even lead to problems such as labour shortage and shrinking workforce.

Overall, I believe that although having elderly people can be advantageous for the family, and in case of continued employement to the economy. But the disadvantages cannot be undermined as well because this leads to growing demands in pension, healthcare and social services.

In conclusion, even though there are some social benefits of having elderly people it does not offset the economic drawbacks. Thus, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of an aging population and providing a clear, consistent position throughout that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The main ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as mentioning healthcare costs, workforce shortages, and the cultural contributions of the elderly. However, some arguments lack deep extension, and there is a tendency to over-generalize slightly. For instance, the point regarding passing down experiences and preserving culture is stated without specific examples or elaboration. Nevertheless, the position is clearly stated in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. The task is successfully covered, aligning well with the expectations of Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. There is a discernible structure with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing each side of the argument, and a definitive conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions between ideas, such as 'On one hand,' 'However,' and 'In conclusion.' However, paragraphing could be slightly better managed, as the conclusion and the preceding sentence feel a bit fragmented. Additionally, there are minor issues with referencing and punctuation around cohesive markers (e.g., 'Though having elder people may have it's own...'). Overall, the logical flow is easy to follow, making Band 6.5 a fair representation of the student's cohesion and organisational skills.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'life expectancy,' 'allocation,' 'dependent population,' and 'labour shortage.' However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'aging populating' instead of 'population,' 'it's' instead of 'its,' and 'employement' instead of 'employment.' There are also some phrasing issues, such as 'elder people' instead of 'elderly people.' While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a lack of precision that prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. The lexical resource is sufficient for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating the ability to construct conditional and relative clauses (e.g., 'In many countries, owing to recent developments in healthcare and public welfare average life expectancy has increased.'). However, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly missing commas after introductory prepositional phrases ('In many countries, owing to...'), incorrect apostrophe usage ('it's own' instead of 'its own'), and minor subject-verb agreement or article slips. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the overall meaning remains clear. This performance aligns comfortably with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

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