Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-18

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 6.5)

In many countries, people are living longer than past. While some people believe that an ageing population creates problems for the governments, others think that having more elderly people will bring benefits for the society. In my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because older people can preserve traditions and share their valuable experience with younger people.

On the one hand, an ageing population have several benefits. Firstly, elder people have a good understanding of traditional cultures like marriages, festivals and ceremonies. Where they can teach to the young people. For example, in India, grandparents often explain the traditional weddings and history of festivals to the younger generations. Which helps many people to know what exactly happen in the past. Secondly, they have gained more amount of knowledge through their life experiences. For instance, older people can teach younger one about how to repair mechanical or automatic watches. Therefore, older people preserve cultural traditions and practical skills.

On the other hand, having a large elderly population can cause financial problem for the governments. This because older people need medical treatment and financial support after their retirement. As a result government need to spend money on hospitals and pensions. For instance, old people require regular check-ups and needed long term treatments. Where it creates burden on the public and puts pressure on the governments. However, these problems can be managed with proper planning on the government budget.

In conclusion, although ageing population creates problem for the governments in terms of medical and pension. I believe, advantages outweigh the disadvantages because older people can preserve cultural traditions and pass their valuable knowledge and experience on to younger generations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you believe the benefits outweigh the costs, particularly because older people pass on traditions and experience. You address both sides, and the examples about Indian wedding customs and repairing watches make the benefits relevant. This meets the task well, but the two advantages are not equally developed: the cultural example is explained, while the practical-skills point is brief and somewhat narrow. The disadvantage is also mainly described as government spending on healthcare and pensions, without exploring its wider effects or comparing its scale with the benefits. To strengthen the response further, explain how these contributions benefit society overall and make the weighing of advantages against costs more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your view. The progression within the body paragraphs is generally logical, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the argument. This is a strong organisational foundation. However, some linking is mechanical, and a few sentence fragments interrupt the flow: “Where they can teach to the young people” and “Which helps many people…” do not connect grammatically to the preceding sentences. “Where it creates burden” is also an unclear reference. Join these ideas to the sentences they explain and use pronouns or transitions with clear referents to make cohesion more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss the topic, including “traditional cultures,” “life experiences,” “financial support,” “medical treatment,” and “public.” These choices make your main points understandable, and phrases such as “preserve cultural traditions” are relevant to the argument. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “mechanical or automatic watches.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, however: “elder people,” “more amount of knowledge,” and “creates burden” do not sound idiomatic. Repetition of “older people” and “governments” also limits flexibility. Build accuracy by learning common word partnerships and varying references, for example with “older adults” or “retirees,” while keeping the meaning precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including a contrastive opening with “While” and a conditional phrase in “if society has more elderly people” from the task framing. Most of your meaning remains clear, but some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and punctuation prevent consistently accurate control. For example, “an ageing population have” should use a singular verb, while “Where they can teach…” and “Which helps…” are fragments rather than complete sentences. In “This because older people need…,” the main clause is missing a verb, and “government need” lacks subject–verb agreement. Practise combining supporting details into complete sentences and checking agreement and articles; this will help you use complex structures more reliably.

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