Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-13

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)

Many nations nowadays have more people living longer than ever before. Some people argue that aging population initiates issues for governments, however others think there might be advantages if society includes more elderly people. In my opinion, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages significantly due to the amount of medical care they require and money spent on them.

First of all, if aging people had a considerable increase in a country, many considerations and situations should be taken. The amount of intensive care by medical crews will be needed more than ever before, this will add more burden on the governments beside other burdens that already exists. This burden can be described as both financial and medical burden, which is spending more money on resources, nursery facilities, doctors, and nurses. Additionally, the demand for specialized medical professionals will increase, which can sometimes be hard to achieve and maintain.

On the other hand, elderly citizens might help the country's people decide on a critical political decision from their own experience and point of view, which can be helpful sometimes. However, some countries have faced problems with old people having outdated beliefs and ideas that can affect the nation negatively, consequently, it is hard to decide whether they really can be helpful in this part or not. For instance, a well known country in asia had its youth explode into a huge revolution to remove the government that consists of only 70+ years old personnels, due to their poor execution of required rules and corruption in multiple areas in the country, which in turn, yielded into a newly formed government that consists only of 20s youth professionals.

In conclusion, given the high pressure added on governments to maintain such old and demanding citizens category, and the probability of them having ineffective and negative contribution in politics, I think the advantages are less than the disadvantages in a very impactful way.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, and you give relevant reasons about healthcare costs and elderly people’s political influence. The healthcare paragraph explains several pressures, including staffing, facilities and government spending. However, the advantages are only briefly considered, and the political example is lengthy and not clearly connected to the broader benefits older people can bring to society. The claim that elderly people may hold outdated views is also generalised rather than supported with a balanced explanation. To strengthen the response, address a wider range of benefits, such as experience in families, workplaces or communities, and explain more precisely why the disadvantages remain greater overall.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for disadvantages and advantages, and a conclusion that restates your view. Linking phrases such as “First of all,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. Within paragraphs, however, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, the long sentence beginning “For instance” contains several claims about a revolution, government corruption and a new government, making the example difficult to follow. The reference to “this part” is also vague. Use shorter sentences to present examples and make pronoun references explicit; this would improve the progression between claims and supporting details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “intensive care,” “specialized medical professionals,” “financial burden” and “political decision.” These choices show an attempt to discuss the issue beyond basic terms. However, several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “aging population initiates issues,” “nursery facilities,” “old people having outdated beliefs,” and “yielded into a newly formed government.” Repetition of “burden” and “government” also limits the range. Aim for more precise collocations and a suitably formal tone, especially when describing older people and political change. More accurate word combinations would make your ideas clearer and help you express distinctions between costs, pressures and potential social contributions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional and relative structures, as in “if aging people had a considerable increase…” and “which can be helpful sometimes.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Examples include “many considerations and situations should be taken,” “this will add more burden,” and “burdens that already exists,” where sentence construction, articles or subject–verb agreement need attention. The sentence about the revolution is especially difficult to control because it combines many clauses. Practise building accurate shorter sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; check agreement, articles and punctuation when editing.

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