Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-08
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In some countries, more and more people are becoming interested in finding out about the history of the house or building they live in.
What are the reasons for this?
How can people research this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
In few countries public are becoming more interested in knowing about the history of the house or the building they live in. They can find who used to live before and how it was built. Public can research by asking old people near their house or can ask government authorities.
On the one hand, some people are very curious to know about the history of the building that they are living in. This is because people will get to know the condition of the building and how many years before it was built. Moreover, they will know
the troubles they have faced while building the house. In addition, public can know the building is legit or not. For example, by knowing the condition of the building can renovate the building by demolishing the current one. As a result, people can live safely after knowing about the house history.
On the other hand, People can get to know about history of the building or house by asking the older people beside their house. They can also visit government authorities and revenue office. Furthermore, they can also refer to the old newspapers and libraries. For instance, all the land related documents are kept in the government offices.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You address both questions: you suggest reasons for interest, such as curiosity about a building’s age and condition, and ways to investigate, including asking older neighbours, contacting government offices, and consulting newspapers or libraries. These are relevant ideas, but the explanation is limited and some points are unclear. For example, “the troubles they have faced while building the house” is not clearly connected to why residents want to learn its history, and the renovation example needs more explanation. The response also does not meet the required minimum of 250 words, which leaves little room to develop the reasons and research methods. Extend each main idea with a clear explanation or a specific example.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about reasons, and a paragraph about research methods. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “In addition,” and “For instance” help signal relationships between ideas. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and the repeated “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” framing suggests a contrast even though the paragraphs cover two parts of the question rather than opposing views. Some connections also need to be made explicit, particularly between learning a building’s condition and deciding to demolish or renovate it. Use topic sentences that directly identify each paragraph’s purpose, then explain each point in a logical sequence.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “condition,” “renovate,” “government authorities,” “revenue office,” and “land related documents.” There is some repetition of general terms such as “building,” “house,” and “know,” which limits precision and variety. A few choices are unnatural or unclear: “public” is used where “people” or “residents” is intended, and “legit” is too informal and imprecise for this essay. “The troubles they have faced while building the house” also does not express the intended idea clearly. Build a more precise range for discussing property records, previous occupants, construction, and safety, and check collocations and register.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You use mostly straightforward sentence patterns and attempt some longer structures with “because,” “while,” and “after,” so the main message is generally understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven. Examples include “In few countries,” “who used to live before,” and “the history of the building or house,” where articles or sentence structure need attention. In “people will get to know … how many years before it was built,” the question structure is not formed correctly; a statement such as “how many years ago it was built” would be clearer. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as “People” begins a sentence after “On the other hand” but is not capitalised consistently elsewhere. Practise accurate article use and embedded question forms while varying sentence structures.
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