Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-30

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)

It is true that people are now living longer than ever before, in various parts of the world. A number of people argue an ageing population creates problems for governments, while other people believe there are benefits of having more elderly people.

On the one hand, senior citizens can bring advantages in numerous ways. First, they have more experience, and deep knowledge. So, they can give advice for his country development. For example, a experienced politician can guide a country. Similarly, an experienced worker can share their working experience and skills with junior employees. Therefore, juniors can learn many things about their job. They become successful and their company also gain some benefits. Furthermore, retired lawyer and university professor can give their knowledge about law and teaching method. As a result, junior lawyers and teachers can learn important lessons.

On the other hand, this situation has some drawbacks. If a country has more older population so they remain less young people, causing less young workers in the workplace. For instance, a country, such as, Japan has more senior citizens, suffering less younger worker in the factories. Many factories are closed for this situation. In addition, more old people means more hospitals bills, requiring more doctors and nurses, and medicine. This hospitals bills have to pay either by government directly or indirectly working people. Thus, negative outcomes remain for having more older people.

In conclusion, having senior citizens have both sides positive and negative. Senior people can share their valuable experience and deep knowledge, bringing benefits for their country. A country should have balance population, so they can gain benefits for them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of an aging population, and presents a clear position that there are both positive and negative aspects. Key ideas, such as the value of experience in the workforce and the strain on healthcare and the economy, are introduced. However, some ideas remain under-developed or supported with weak generalisations and overly simplistic examples, such as mentioning Japan closing factories. To reach a higher band, the arguments require more depth and thorough elaboration rather than brief, repetitive assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, using standard introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although some referencing and transitional links feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, such as 'For example' and 'Similarly' used in close proximity. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'senior citizens', 'experience', 'healthcare', and 'generation'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, including phrases like 'give advice for his country development' instead of 'national development', 'more older population' instead of 'larger older population', and 'This hospitals bills have to pay' rather than 'These hospital bills have to be paid'. These errors do not impede communication but restrict the score to a 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain grammatical inaccuracies. Errors are noticeable, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'If a country has more older population so they remain less young people', 'suffering less younger worker', and 'having senior citizens have both sides positive and negative'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor errors in grammar prevent the text from achieving a higher band.

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