Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-14

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 some countries, a number of increasing people have a growing interest to find out about the history of the house or building they live in. Mainly the reason behind this trend is that people wanted to know about their ancestors, and people can research this by some reliable ways.

One of the main reasons why people are becoming interested about their houses is that they want to know their roots. They want to know who were their ancestors, how they lived and how they built theses houses or building. For example, when a tourist visits a palatial house, they must wanted to know about this remarkable architecture. Thus, if people know about the history, they may share this knowledge with them. In addition, many university's curriculum have now history discipline, Therefore, students are learning about their history which encouraged them to know more about their buildings.

There are some viable ways available to find out the history. Firstly, in many traditional libraries people can find history books. If they read these books, they will gain general knowledge about the ancient places. Secondly, they can get more knowledge if they visit museums. Museums have a collection of artifacts and their possible age also written in them. It helps people to gain better understandings of some places. Furthermore, scientific research make the way easier for individuals to know about the unknown things. Thus, people can find all the answers of their questions about their places.

In conclusion, knowing about their roots and ancestors are the reasons of people becoming interested in their living places and they can research this with the help of scientific method, reading history books and museums.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: you suggest that people want to understand their roots and ancestors, and you mention libraries, museums and scientific research as ways to investigate a building’s past. These are relevant responses, and the example of a visitor wondering about a palatial house gives one idea some illustration. However, the reasons are not fully developed: the point about university curricula is introduced but its connection to interest in one’s own home remains unclear. The research methods also need more specific explanation; for instance, you could describe consulting property records, local archives or previous residents. The conclusion repeats the main points rather than adding clarity. Develop each reason and show more directly how each research method can answer the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for reasons and research methods, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly” and “Furthermore” help readers follow the list of methods. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, the move from wanting to know one’s ancestors to a tourist visiting a palatial house shifts from personal history to architectural interest without explaining the connection. “Thus” is also used to introduce conclusions that do not always follow clearly from the preceding point. Use more precise referencing and explain the relationship between examples and claims, rather than relying mainly on listing connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “ancestors,” “traditional libraries,” “museums,” “artifacts” and “scientific research.” These choices make the subject clear, and phrases such as “know their roots” show an attempt to use natural expressions. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “a number of increasing people,” “interest to find out,” and “gain better understandings.” Some terms are also imprecise: “scientific research” is mentioned without identifying what research people might actually conduct. Aim for more natural collocations and precise vocabulary for historical investigation, such as property records, archives and former residents. Check word forms and possessives, including “university’s curriculum.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “when,” “if” and “which,” and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction remain. For example, “they must wanted to know” combines incompatible verb forms, while “many university’s curriculum have” has problems with the possessive, number and agreement. In the conclusion, “knowing about their roots and ancestors are the reasons” does not maintain agreement between the subject and verb. There are also punctuation and capitalization slips, such as the capital letter after “Therefore” mid-sentence. Review these patterns and proofread each sentence, especially when combining clauses.

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.