Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-01

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)

The life expectancy of people have increased in many countries. While some people believe that an aging population create difficulties for governments, others argue that there are many benefits of having elderly people in the society. The advantage of having an aging population is that advices from elder people can be benefitial for the society. Meanwhile, the disadvantage of the same is that the senior citizens cannot contribute much to the economy of the country compared to younger people.

The major advantage of having elder people in the society is that their recommendations and suggestions on the society hold a superior value due to their experience. Many elderly people have had an experience throughout the change in values and traditions over the years, and they can help people recall the cultural values and different aspects of their traditions. For example, cultural practices are passed on the next generations by elderly people, which is required to protect the loss of culture in many countries. As a result, elder people's experience and advices have helped many people to build a culturally attached society.

The primary disadvantage of increasing numbers of senior citizens is that they do not contribute effectively to the economy of the country. People in the higher age groups are mostly retired and have no plans of working, which reduces the contribution to the economy. Some senior citizes cannot adapt to the technological advancements, which will create more problems for the government. For example, the government will find difficulty in asking people to enter their medical data through online website. This leads to less contribution to government practices.

In conclusion, although the aging population may not contribute efficiently to the economy and the government, it does not outweigh the advantage of their experience and advice to benefit the society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear position: you conclude that the benefits of older people’s experience outweigh their limited economic contribution. The cultural-transmission example—elderly people passing practices to younger generations—supports your main advantage, while retirement and difficulty using online services illustrate disadvantages. However, the discussion is not equally developed: the cultural benefit is explained more fully, whereas the economic point is asserted rather than explored, and the online medical-data example is only loosely connected to economic contribution. To strengthen the response, explain more directly how these effects influence society and why the benefits are more significant overall.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the advantage and disadvantage, and a conclusion that returns to your position. Ideas generally progress logically, and linking expressions such as “Meanwhile,” “For example,” and “As a result” help show relationships between points. The main opportunity is to make some links more precise: the example about entering medical data online does not clearly demonstrate reduced economic contribution, and “This leads to less contribution to government practices” leaves the connection unclear. Use transitions to show the exact relationship between each example and the argument, and ensure references such as “the same” have an unmistakable antecedent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including terms such as “life expectancy,” “cultural practices,” “technological advancements,” and “contribution to the economy.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some less common vocabulary. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling issues reduce precision: “advices” is not normally used as a plural noun, “benefitial” is misspelled, and “culturally attached society” is an unnatural phrase. “Senior citizes” also contains a spelling error. Aim for more natural combinations and check word forms and spelling; this will make your argument sound more precise without requiring more complicated vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concession in the introduction (“While some people believe…”) and a relative clause (“which reduces the contribution to the economy”). Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “The life expectancy of people have increased” has subject–verb disagreement, and “an aging population create difficulties” also needs a singular verb. In “passed on the next generations,” the article and preposition pattern are incorrect. Review agreement with singular subjects, article use, and prepositions in common patterns. Greater accuracy in these areas, alongside your existing sentence variety, would make the response more controlled.

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