Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-15

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 5.0)

Nowadays age factor of living longer than ever has become increasingly common in modern society. While this trend offer several advantages, it also comes with the certain disadvantages. In this essay, I will explain the advantages and disadvantages with relevant exapmles, and also draw a conclusion.

On the one hand, having more elderly people in a socirty provides a number of significant benefits. One major advantage is that they provide honest guidance to adults. They have more experience than adults as a result, they can guide their children in the right path. For instance, if a child facing difficulty in choosing his right career they can guide him towards the most demanding profession. Probing ahead, one of the main underlying reason stems from the fact is that can play the role of care-taker of infants if they did not do a job. As staying at home they can look after babies if women are doing jobs or busy in house-hold chores.

burden on i

On the other hand, there are some notable drawbacks associated with this. One major disadvantage is that they are burden on their family. As they donn't do jobs, unable to earn their livelihood, and depend on their family to bear their living expanses. Another drawback of this that they could be the cause of over population and might be hinder in the economic progess of a country.

All things considered, having longer living spam can cause economically burden on society as well as on government. Although it serves several advantages like provide guidance, and prove as care-taker, the disadvantages such as they might create problems for society as well as for government. Overall, I believe that the advantages overweigh the disadvantages, as they burden on individual as well as society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear final view that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The points about older people offering guidance and caring for infants are relevant, as are the concerns about family costs and economic progress. However, the response only partially answers the key question of how far the advantages outweigh the disadvantages: the conclusion repeats both sides but does not explain why the benefits are stronger. Several ideas are also asserted rather than developed. For example, the claim that older people can guide a child towards a demanding career needs a clearer explanation or a more specific example, and the population-growth point is not convincingly linked to an aging population. Develop fewer points with clearer reasoning and support, and maintain the comparison throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable essay structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers identify the two sides. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: the advantages paragraph moves from guidance to childcare without a clear link, and the sentence beginning “Probing ahead” is difficult to follow. The isolated fragment “burden on i” interrupts the flow, while the conclusion repeats earlier points rather than drawing them together into a reasoned comparison. Some linking phrases are mechanical, and references such as “they” can be unclear. Use complete paragraphs, connect each supporting example directly to its main point, and make the conclusion resolve the comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “aging population,” “guidance,” “care-taker,” and “economic progress,” and you attempt phrases such as “significant benefits” and “notable drawbacks.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to interpret. Examples include “age factor of living longer,” “living spam,” “burden on their family,” and “over population.” Spelling errors such as “socirty,” “exapmles,” and “progess” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural phrases and check spelling carefully. For instance, describe older people as “a financial burden on families” only when that is the intended point, and use “life expectancy” rather than an inaccurate phrase for longer lives.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “While this trend…” and conditional structures such as “if a child…” and “if they did not do a job.” However, complex attempts are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction can make ideas hard to follow. For example, “this trend offer” needs subject–verb agreement, while “they are burden on their family” is missing an article. The sentence “They have more experience than adults as a result, they can guide…” joins clauses incorrectly, and “if a child facing difficulty” lacks a finite verb. Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then check agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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.