Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-04

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)

History plays a significant role in everyone's life because it helps people to understand old things. In many countries, more people are more interested to finding out about the ancient house or buildings they live in. This essay will discuss the reasons for this trend and the ways people can research such information.

To begin with, there are many reasons why people want to learn past history. Firstly, many people curious about the previous owners and the events. Secondly, they want to know structural problems, such as floods or fires so anything happens during any circumstances they can survive it any learn from it. In addition, old house with historical backgrounds may be worth more. Old building attract more buyers. Moreover, people want to preserve ancient heritage. For example, old buildings and house may increases person wealth and power also, they feel proud of living in historic site.

On the other hand, individuals research this from many ways. People get data from the government department. Also, from old books or local municipal offices through they can get history. In addition, society can research from old maps, newspapers and historical documents. A part from they use social media and internet browser they provide wide range of details. For instance, individuals hire exports for survey so they can easily find out the property and records.

In conclusion, people are interesting in learning about the history of their houses for reasons such as curiosity, safety and financial value. They can get data from by checking past records, visiting libraries, searching online.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the trend and methods of research. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about 'structural problems' is unclear, and the explanation of how to research is a list of sources rather than a developed explanation. While the position is clear, the ideas lack the depth required for a higher band. The response covers all parts of the task, but the supporting arguments are often brief and lack specific, well-integrated examples, which limits the overall impact of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Firstly', 'In addition', and 'On the other hand'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as 'A part from they use social media'. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the flow between sentences is occasionally choppy. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main parts of the prompt, which helps the reader follow the structure of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'old house' and 'old buildings'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'preserve ancient heritage' and 'municipal offices', there are errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'increases person wealth' and 'hire exports' (likely meaning 'experts'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or sophistication needed for a band 7 or above.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Examples include 'more interested to finding out', 'anything happens during any circumstances they can survive it any learn from it', and 'people are interesting in learning'. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with article usage and verb forms throughout the text. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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