Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-16

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)

Aging population has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. While this trend offers several benefits, it also brings certain drawbacks. This essay will explore both the advantages and disadvantages before reaching a conclusion.

There are some advantages of the aging population, like the experience and handling the pressure. In the world of technological advancement, there is a need that you have some experienced brains in your society, and ultimately, older people fill that gap. They polish the skills of the younger generation by their wisdom and mind boggling experience. Similarly, the youth is more prone to the pressure and stress as compared to the elderly adults. So the senior citizens will eventually help them in handling and coping with that pressure.

On the other hand there are several disadvantages as well. The younger people have more innovative minds, and in the world of technology you need that brains for the better future. Older people lack this quality as they have the old school brain with no new ideas. For instance, in 2025 a youngster in the UK developed a device which can directly deliver the food at your doorstep without the requirement of a person. Moreover, the adolescents have the supreme fitness and they are proactive during the work. This fitness is essential in the daily tasks, as sometime you have to do a work for 15 to 18 hours and only a physically and mentally tough person can do that.

In conclusion, while aging population offers notable benefits such as experience and dealing with the pressure, it also presents challenges including physical fitness and lack of innovation. On balance, I believe the disadvantages/advantages outweigh the advantages/disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both potential benefits and drawbacks, including older people’s experience and the physical demands of some work, so the response is relevant to the topic. However, the task asks you to judge how far the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and your position is not established: the conclusion says “the disadvantages/advantages outweigh the advantages/disadvantages,” leaving the answer unresolved. Several points are also asserted rather than explained. For example, the claim that older people help younger people cope with pressure needs a concrete explanation or example, while the device example does not clearly show that an aging population causes a lack of innovation. State your view directly and support the main comparisons with relevant, developed reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand,” “Similarly,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the broad direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven. The advantages paragraph moves from experience to stress management without fully connecting the two, and the disadvantages paragraph shifts from innovation to physical fitness with limited explanation of how these points relate. Some linking is also mechanical, and the final sentence’s paired alternatives make the conclusion difficult to follow. Build each paragraph around a clear main idea, then explain and illustrate it before moving to the next point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “technological advancement,” “senior citizens,” “innovative,” and “adolescents,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “mind boggling experience,” but some choices are imprecise or too informal for an academic essay. “Old school brain” is an unsuitable description, and “handling the pressure” is repeated without much variation. Collocations such as “experienced brains” and “do a work” are not natural in this context. Aim for precise, neutral expressions and check how words combine; for example, describe older people’s “professional experience” and refer to “performing physically demanding tasks.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “only a physically and mentally tough person can do that” and a relative clause in “a device which can directly deliver the food.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions remain. Examples include “there is a need that you have” and “you need that brains,” where the clause structure and determiner are not controlled. In “as sometime you have to do a work,” the adverb and article use are also inaccurate. The conclusion’s slash-separated alternatives create an incomplete, unclear sentence. Practise accurate clause patterns, articles, and singular/plural forms, and proofread punctuation and sentence endings.

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