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)

In the modern era, some individuals argued that the population of elderly people poses problems to government, while others oposed to it because they believe it benefits to society. In my opinion aging population has disadvantages including, they cannot work properly. However, I firmly believe that its advantages outweigh the drawbacks because younger generation can learn many thing from them.

One major disadvantage of older people is that they cannot work significantly. In others word, they are mostly dependent on either government or family member. So, government is facing problems regarding management of older people while, many families are abandoning them. For example, nowadays, people do not want to take an elderly person at home. Thus why they are taking them to oldage home for living. Consequently, the government is facing problems regarding the management of these population.

On the other hand, elder people can assist younger generations in several aspects. Old people have experience and knowledge about life which thay can teach to youth in society. In this way society can prosper and younger generation can learn about culture and tradition too. For instance, the family which have older person is more knowledgeable about the culture and tradition because of regular teaching and knowledge provided by elders. Therefore, having elderly people have significant positive impacts on society.

In conclusion, although the management of elderly people can be a hassle for the governments because many families are abandoning them and they cannot do work, I firmly believe that having elderly people at home is more beneficial to society because younger generation can learn a lot of things from them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your response addresses both sides of the question and gives a clear view: you acknowledge the burden of supporting older people, then argue that their knowledge and experience benefit younger generations. The examples about care homes and passing on culture are relevant. However, the disadvantages are mainly presented as older people being unable to work and requiring support; this could be developed by explaining the scale or consequences of that burden. Likewise, the benefits focus almost entirely on cultural learning, so another benefit—such as childcare, volunteering, or preserving family history—would make the argument more fully supported. Your conclusion restates your position, though the comparison of the overall advantages and disadvantages could be made more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for disadvantages and advantages, and a conclusion. The progression from the problem of dependence to the value of elders’ experience is easy to follow. You also use signposts such as “On the other hand,” “For example,” and “In conclusion,” which help readers navigate the argument. This already gives the response a coherent shape, but some linking is mechanical or repetitive: “Thus why” and “Consequently” introduce closely related points about care homes and government management. The reference in “these population” is also unclear. To strengthen cohesion further, combine repeated ideas and use more precise references to connect each example to the claim it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “aging population,” “dependent,” “management,” “culture and tradition,” and “drawbacks.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable word-choice, collocation, word-form, and spelling errors reduce precision. Examples include “oposed to it,” “benefits to society,” “In others word,” and “oldage home.” Some phrases are also repeated, particularly “younger generation” and “government is facing problems regarding the management.” Aim to learn common word partnerships and check spelling and word forms. More precise alternatives for dependence, care provision, and the transfer of knowledge would help you express the argument with greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “although” and a reason clause with “because.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors occur across sentence patterns and sometimes make relationships less clear. For example, “In my opinion aging population has disadvantages including, they cannot work properly” has faulty clause construction and punctuation; “the family which have older person” has agreement and article errors; and “having elderly people have significant positive impacts” has an unclear subject–verb structure. There are also recurring issues with articles, plurals, and agreement, as in “government,” “family member,” and “these population.” Practise building accurate complex sentences and checking each subject against its verb.

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