Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-08

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 6.0)

I remember visiting Rome in the year 2019 with my family. We spent around 20 delightful days backpacking around Europe. What a memorable trip it was!

We communicated with so many neighbouring localities, and everyone had some or the other story about where they live, when their house was built, and how long they have been residing in the same place.

Out of all, I vividly remember Marcello. He took us to his ancestral home in the heart of Rome. His house was 2 miles away from the world-famous Colosseum. After giving us a tour of his place, he narrated the entire story of how it was built, how he inherited it from his ancestors, and why he is excited to live in this magnificent villa rather than in a top-floor condo.

I believe the reason behind Marcello being loyal to his ancestral house is that he feels rooted and connected with it. If he had not lived there, he might never have known about his grandparents or what life they built while living there. Also, his vintage house was living proof of Roman architecture and early European art that you wouldn't find easily elsewhere.

More and more people are becoming curious worldwide to learn about their house or the building they are living in might be for two chief reasons:

1. Does either of them have cultural or national significance?

2. Is there something unique about the place or is it yet another piece of infrastructure?

Well, Marcello was lucky to have lived with his prior generations and learned everything about the history of the house he was living in. But for the rest of us who are keen to discover might have to shelter under the internet or deep dive into the books of the city library, hoping that somewhere the house or building is mentioned greatly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, but the development is uneven. The personal anecdote about Marcello occupies the majority of the essay, which is a narrative approach rather than an analytical one. While the reasons for interest in history are touched upon (cultural significance and uniqueness), they are presented as a list rather than fully developed arguments. The section on how to research is also quite brief and lacks depth. To improve, you should balance the personal example with more general, academic analysis of the societal trends driving this interest, ensuring that the 'reasons' and 'methods' are explored with equal weight.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is hindered by the heavy reliance on a personal story. The transition between the anecdote about Marcello and the general discussion is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Also' and 'Well', but they are somewhat informal and do not always create a smooth flow between ideas. The use of a numbered list in the middle of the text is not appropriate for an academic essay and disrupts the formal structure. Improving the use of linking phrases and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your meaning, using terms like 'ancestral home', 'magnificent villa', and 'infrastructure'. However, there are some awkward collocations and informal phrasing, such as 'shelter under the internet' and 'mentioned greatly'. These choices slightly limit the precision of your argument. To reach a higher band, focus on using more academic collocations and avoiding overly conversational language. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise terms related to historical research and architectural heritage would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While most sentences are understandable, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'everyone had some or the other story' and 'those who are keen to discover might have to shelter'. Punctuation is generally accurate, but the sentence structure in the final paragraph is slightly fragmented. You have a good grasp of basic grammar, but to improve, you should aim for more varied complex sentence structures and ensure that subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are consistently accurate throughout the text.

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

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