User-written IELTS example
Writing Academic Task 2 Band 5.0 Example
Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.
Illustrative target band for this original model answer.
Plan your answer
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Ideas to explore
- Explain why age could matter: less driving experience and maturity may affect hazard awareness and decision-making.
- Qualify the age argument by noting that age does not reliably measure an individual’s driving skill and that some young people depend on driving for access to work or education.
- Compare age limits with measures that address multiple causes of collisions, such as graduated licensing, enforcement, driver training, and safer road design.
Suggested structure
- Introduce the debate and state a clear degree of agreement.
- Explain the strongest reason a higher age limit could improve safety.
- Discuss why age alone is an imperfect solution and identify the costs or limits.
- Offer complementary measures that address other causes of crashes.
- Conclude with a balanced judgment that directly answers the question.
Useful vocabulary & examples
- graduated licensing
- A system in which new drivers gain driving privileges in stages, often with restrictions at first.
Graduated licensing can help novice drivers gain experience before receiving a full licence.
- hazard awareness
- The ability to notice potential dangers and respond appropriately while driving.
Driver training can strengthen hazard awareness among inexperienced motorists.
- chronological age
- A person's age measured in years, as distinct from their ability or maturity.
Chronological age is an imperfect indicator of driving competence.
- road infrastructure
- The physical features of roads and related facilities, such as surfaces, lighting, and signs.
Investment in road infrastructure can reduce hazards for all road users.
Task Prompt
User Essay Analysis
Review the public answer with report-style highlights.
There is an ongoing debate in the community stating that the minimum legal age for driving a car or motorbike should be increased to enhance road safety. In this essay, I will explain on why a personally disagree to this suggestion and instead, the government to help the public raise awareness by implement strict traffic rules alongside training and safer conditions.
The argument for a higher age is that an older beginner may approach a decision with greater maturity. Delaying access can also reduce the number of young drivers on the road. These are reasons to consider age as one factor, but they do not show that every older driver is careful or that every younger one is irresponsible. A person who begins later still needs to learn how to handle traffic safely.
Training therefore matters independently of the threshold. Learners need practice in recognising hazards, controlling a vehicle and responding to other road users. A test should assess the relevant skills rather than simply confirm that the applicant has reached a birthday. Supervised experience and clear expectations can address the difficulty faced by any new driver, regardless of when they start.
Other measures concern conduct after a licence has been obtained. Consistent enforcement of rules on dangerous behaviour can apply to the whole driving population. Roads can also be designed so that crossings, junctions and sightlines make safe decisions easier. Improving these conditions addresses hazards that an age restriction alone leaves untouched. Responsibility is shared between road users and those managing the environment.
There are costs to relying mainly on a higher threshold. A young person in an area with little public transport may find access to education or employment more difficult. The restriction should therefore be weighed against its likely safety effect and the alternatives available. A policy can be simple to describe without being the most effective response to the actual sources of danger.
In conclusion, age may form part of a licensing system, but I would prioritise competence, safer conditions and rules applied consistently. Improving safety requires attention to how people drive and to the roads they use, rather than treating age as a complete explanation.
Targeted Improvement Tips
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