IELTS Writing Task 2 prompt
In many countries the proportion of older people is steadily increasing. Do you think this is a positive or a negative development for society?
Source practice test: IELTS Writing Test 14
Band 9 model answer
Expert-level response
Across much of the developed and developing world alike, the share of citizens aged over sixty-five is rising sharply, a trend driven by longer life expectancy and falling birth rates. While this shift is often portrayed as a looming crisis, I believe it is, on balance, a positive development, provided that governments adapt their economic and social structures accordingly.
The most obvious benefit is the wealth of experience and stability that older generations contribute. Many remain economically active well into their sixties and seventies, whether through part-time work, mentoring or entrepreneurship, and their accumulated knowledge is invaluable in fields such as medicine, education and skilled trades where expertise takes decades to develop. Furthermore, an ageing population reflects genuine progress in public health and living standards; a society in which people routinely live into their eighties is, in many respects, a triumph rather than a burden. Grandparents also frequently provide informal childcare, easing pressure on younger families and strengthening intergenerational bonds that modern, fast-paced lifestyles often erode.
Nevertheless, the challenges are real and should not be understated. A shrinking workforce must support a growing number of pensioners, straining pension systems and healthcare budgets, particularly as chronic conditions become more prevalent with age. If left unaddressed, this imbalance could force painful choices between higher taxes, reduced benefits and delayed retirement ages. Crucially, though, these are policy problems with practical solutions: raising retirement thresholds gradually, encouraging immigration to replenish the labour force, investing in automation, and promoting preventative healthcare can all mitigate the financial strain without sacrificing the advantages older citizens bring.
In conclusion, an ageing population is fundamentally a sign of societal success rather than decline, even though it demands careful economic planning. Countries that invest early in flexible pension schemes, elder-friendly workplaces and robust healthcare systems will find that longer-living citizens enrich, rather than deplete, their societies.
Why this meets Band 9
- Task Response: presents a clear, consistent position (positive overall) in the introduction and maintains it while fully engaging with counterarguments, meeting the exact question about positive or negative development.
- Coherence and Cohesion: paragraphs are logically sequenced from benefits to challenges to resolution, with sophisticated linking such as 'Nevertheless', 'Crucially, though' and 'In conclusion' that signals nuanced argument progression rather than mechanical listing.
- Lexical Resource: precise, topic-specific vocabulary is used naturally, including 'life expectancy', 'intergenerational bonds', 'pension systems' and 'preventative healthcare', with no repetition of basic terms like 'old people'.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: a wide range of complex structures is controlled accurately, including conditionals ('provided that'), passive forms, and subordinate clauses, with error-free punctuation and sentence variety.
Band 6 sample answer
Competent but limited response
Nowadays, in a lot of countries, the number of old people is increasing very fast. This is happening because people live longer than before and also because families have less children now. In my opinion, I think this can be both a positive and a negative development for the society, but I will explain both sides in this essay.
Firstly, there are many good points about having more older people. Old people have a lot of experience in their life and they can share this experience with younger people. For example, grandparents can help to take care of their grandchildren while the parents are working, this can save a lot of money for the family. Also, old people have worked hard for many years so they deserve to have a long and happy retirement. Moreover, it shows that the country has good hospitals and good medicine, because people are living longer than in the past.
On the other hand, there are also some negative points. The government needs to spend a lot of money on pensions and healthcare for old people, and this money comes from taxes that young workers pay. If there are more old people and less young workers, the country will have financial problems in the future. In addition, old people often get sick more easily and this puts a lot of pressure on hospitals and doctors, who are already very busy.
In conclusion, I think an ageing population has both positive and negative sides for society. The good things are the experience and childcare that old people give, but the bad things are the cost for pensions and healthcare. Governments should make plans now, for example by raising the retirement age, so that this problem does not become too serious in the future.
Why this sits around Band 6
- Task Response: the position wavers between 'both positive and negative' and never fully commits, so the conclusion restates both sides rather than answering decisively which the writer believes outweighs the other.
- Coherence and Cohesion: relies on mechanical, list-style linkers such as 'Firstly', 'On the other hand' and 'In conclusion', which organise ideas at a basic level but lack the more sophisticated cohesive devices seen at higher bands.
- Lexical Resource: vocabulary is accurate but repetitive and simple, with 'old people' and 'a lot of' used many times instead of varied synonyms like 'the elderly', 'seniors' or 'a significant number of'.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: sentences are mostly simple or compound, joined with 'and' or 'but', with occasional errors such as 'less children' instead of 'fewer children' and 'the society' instead of 'society'.
Should I say the ageing population is purely positive, purely negative, or a mix of both in this essay?
Any of these positions can score Band 9 as long as you argue it clearly and consistently throughout the essay. The common mistake, seen in the Band 6 sample, is claiming it is 'both positive and negative' without ever stating which side you think is stronger, which weakens Task Response; if you choose a balanced view, make sure your conclusion still gives a clear overall judgement.