Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-07

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)

People nowadays are showing an increasing interest in finding about the culture and history. In some countries, more number of people are showing interest in finding out about the history of the house or building they live in. The main reason for this can be that people want to make sure that they are still attached to their roots.

The main reason for finding the history can be that people are slowing realizing that with modernization they have slowly detached themselves from the history and culture. They have become too busy to remember any of their customs or traditions. They slowly have understood the importance of connections with their history. In order to preserve their traditions they look forward to gain more knowledge about their past. For instance, people in Ahmedabad have started heritage walk in old city just to redevelop a sense of connection with their past. This helps to know a lot about their forefathers and what family they belong to. At times some people also try to find out the history to keep a track of how old is the house or building for safety purposes. They keep this track so that the redevelopment process can start at the earliest and can avoid disruptions which might be caused during a natural calamity such as earthquakes. In India, a lot of old building are reconstructed for the safety of fellow citizens.

People usually start their research with finding about the history of the house or the building they live in because it can be the main source of information. A lot can be known from that. They start by knowing the period of time this house or building was bought. They also try to focus on interior of the house which can help them to connect through the interiors. For instance, if a house is very old it can have carving or old traditional doors or windows which can help us to find that this house is very old and may belong to one of our forefathers. They can also research about the papers which might be made while buying their house or building.

Thus, people in some countries have understood the importance of being connected with traditions and history though becoming modern and so a lot of people are lately showing interest in finding about the history of the house or the building they live in.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the interest in building history and methods for researching it. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire to reconnect with roots and the practical need for safety assessments. However, the development is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the first body paragraph where the focus on 'history' and 'traditions' is restated several times without adding new depth. The example of the Ahmedabad heritage walk is a good specific inclusion, but the explanation of research methods in the second body paragraph is a bit simplistic, focusing heavily on physical observation rather than broader research techniques like archival records or public registries.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'The main reason for this' and 'They slowly have understood' appear frequently, making the flow feel a bit stilted. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the transition between the two main body paragraphs could be smoother to better link the 'reasons' to the 'methods'. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel disconnected due to the repetitive sentence structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There is a reliance on basic, repetitive phrasing such as 'finding out about', 'history of the house', and 'building'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'redevelopment', 'forefathers', and 'natural calamity', the overall lexical range is limited. There are also minor collocation issues, such as 'more number of people' (should be 'a greater number of people') and 'look forward to gain' (should be 'look forward to gaining'). The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the message clearly but does not demonstrate a wide or sophisticated range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the fluency of the text. Examples include 'more number of people' (quantifier error), 'slowing realizing' (should be 'slowly realizing'), 'a lot of old building are' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'research about the papers' (preposition error). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure often feels repetitive. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.

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.