Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-23

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)

More people are becoming very concerned about the history of their houses or the building they live in most countries. This could be as a result of their experiences while living in those houses or other people's experiences they have heard about.

In some countries where people buys an already built houses, the solidity of the foundation and how the building was inherited or built by the landlord is always questioned for the safety of the people living in it. This happens mostly in African countries. Enquiring about these, helps the individual who wish to live in such building make a decision of entering or searching for another. The fear of not knowing what to expect pushes the tenants or buyers to make enquiries. As shown in the news last year in Lagos, where a house collapsed with people trapped in it. This is a great tragedy for the nation.

Secondly, to ensure the building is not wrongly built on the government site. This could cause a distress for the people living in it. A government can decide to take over a property wrongly built anyday. The people are most times displaced as it might not be easy for them to secure a new place as fast as possible.

In conclusion, to avoid the disadvantages in not knowing the history of the house or the building you live in, people need to visit the organisation that could confirm that or they can also ask questions from the people around to ensure they are making the right choice.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for interest in building history and methods for research. However, the development is limited. The reasons provided—safety concerns and government land disputes—are relevant but lack depth. The second part of the prompt, 'How can people research this?', is addressed only in the final sentence with vague suggestions like 'visit the organisation' or 'ask questions'. This lacks the specific detail required for a higher band. The response is quite short, barely meeting the minimum requirement, which limits the ability to fully explore the ideas presented.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For instance, the transition 'Secondly' is used, but the connection between ideas within paragraphs is sometimes weak. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'Enquiring about these', where the antecedent is slightly ambiguous. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, but the flow could be improved with more varied linking words and better paragraph internal cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision expected at higher bands. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'house', 'building', and 'people'. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'solidity of the foundation' and 'displaced', these are somewhat isolated. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'cause a distress' (should be 'cause distress') and 'entering' (which is not the most natural choice for moving into a house). To improve, the student should focus on using more sophisticated collocations and synonyms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'people buys an already built houses' (subject-verb agreement and article error), 'disadvantages in not knowing' (preposition error), and 'the organisation that could confirm that' (vague). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure is often repetitive. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. More attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage is necessary.

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

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