Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-24

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)

Across many nations, people enjoy longer life expectancies than previous genrations . It is often argued that creates a major problem for government .However some belive that senior citizens offers benefits to soceity. In my view , the disadvantages of thus topic outweigh advantages because elder indiviuals create obstale in substaniable economic growth in country and raise government spendings.

To begin with, older generation more demerits as compared with merits .first of all, older generation create hurdle in economic growth of nation especially for underdeveloped nation . This generation creates problem to acheive economic not only by fewer people working but also shortage of workers. futhermore,edlery also rise pressure on health facilities, goverment spending and increased pressure on young ones. For instance auatralia facing major concern regarding aged population which effects on its health care facilites and effects economic goal badly .

A further reason is that ,elder generation make challenge for government of victim country . This genration creates serious issue regarding increased government expenditure by paying pension and welfare benefits . Many recents also reveals that victim nation ofbthis concern have not spend government expentiure in productive way . they spend more money on elder welfare fund which does not provide productivity rather than spending for young one which provide inovaction to nation . Neverthless elder population makes pressure on soceity, it also gave benfits to society by their experience . one of major merit of older people us that they provide not only emotional support and guidance to young ones. consequently , this can contribute to make soceity knowledgable and skilled

To be conclude , agening persons having more dmerits as compared with merits . They create issue to government and young genration by financial burden . However they provide emotinal support to their familes especially for youngesters for choosing right path .

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, including pressure on employment, healthcare and public spending. You also acknowledge a benefit—older people’s experience and guidance—which helps address both sides of the question. However, the advantages are only briefly mentioned, and the claims about economic growth and pension spending are not sufficiently explained or supported. The Australia example is relevant in principle, but it is asserted rather than illustrated with a specific detail. To strengthen the response, explain how these pressures affect society and compare them directly with the value older people contribute, so the extent of your judgement is more fully justified.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two paragraphs focused mainly on disadvantages, a brief discussion of a benefit, and a conclusion that restates your view. This gives the reader a basic route through the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the second body paragraph moves from government expenditure to an unclear claim about productive spending, then shifts abruptly to the benefits of older people. Linking phrases such as “furthermore,” “for instance,” and “to be conclude” are attempted, but some are inaccurate or do not clearly show the relationship between ideas. Organise each paragraph around one main point, use clearer references, and connect examples explicitly to the claim they support.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “life expectancies,” “economic growth,” “government expenditure,” “pension,” and “emotional support.” These choices show an effort to discuss social and economic effects rather than relying only on basic terms. However, the range is limited and many spelling errors or inaccurate word combinations make parts difficult to understand, such as “obstale in substaniable economic growth,” “victim country,” and “government spendings.” Repetition of “older generation,” “creates problem,” and “pressure” also limits precision. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations as complete phrases—for example, “place a burden on public services” or “contribute to the workforce”—so your ideas are expressed more naturally and clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You try to use both simple and more extended sentence forms, including the contrast in “not only by fewer people working but also shortage of workers” and the clause beginning “which does not provide productivity.” However, complex attempts are often faulty, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and punctuation occur frequently enough to make some sentences hard to follow. For example, “older generation create hurdle” lacks appropriate article and agreement, while “senior citizens offers benefits” has a subject–verb agreement error. Several sentences also run together or begin without a clear grammatical connection. Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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.