Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-17

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, people are more keen to know about the historical backgorund in the places they live in, Firstly i do believe that curiosty is a big answer. Secondly, people want to be more connected to their place and area.

To commence with, people naturally want to know who have lived in their houses previously, also they are more interested to find out the reason their building has been used for. For instance, my cousin now lives in a flat building in Lahore, Pakistan. On searching and studying a little about his place, he got to know that once in early 1900s, his building was used as an hospital during War times.

Moreover, some people desire to feel more connected and naturally linked to their places and houses. As they are about to live their, they get more attached to their places and start feeling a warm connection. This can create a greater sense of belonging.

Furthermore, People can conduct research in many ways. Like, they can visit libraries to study some historical maps, books and articles/newspapers. Another reason is that they can search online on certain websites about their area. They can visit digital archives and historical articles.

to conclude this, I do believe that people's growing interest to know about the history of their houses is mainly driven by curiosty. Some might really want to feel more connected too to their area and neighbourhood. They can use libraries, online articles, websites, etc., to know more about the history of their houses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the interest in building history and the methods for research. However, the development is somewhat superficial. While you provide a personal example regarding a cousin in Lahore, the explanation of 'curiosity' and 'connection' remains quite brief. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the implications of these reasons—for example, how historical knowledge might influence a sense of community or cultural preservation. The research methods are listed clearly, but they lack depth in terms of how one might verify information or the challenges involved in such research. The position is clear, but the overall development is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'To commence with', and 'Moreover' to link your points. However, some transitions feel mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. For instance, the conclusion repeats the points made in the introduction without adding new synthesis. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of cohesive devices to create a more natural, sophisticated connection between ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'backgorund', 'curiosty', and 'an hospital' (which is a grammatical error as well). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and relies on basic terms. To improve, you should aim to incorporate more precise, topic-specific vocabulary related to history, architecture, or research methodologies. While your word choice is sufficient to communicate your ideas, it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully use some complex sentences, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include 'the places they live in' (missing preposition 'which'), 'the reason their building has been used for' (awkward phrasing), and 'live their' (incorrect homophone for 'there'). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy.

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

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