Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-27
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, many people are taking interest in finding out about the history of the house or building they live in. There are several reasons for this trend, one of the main ones being climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.
Climate change is affecting all the world so the people are increasingly concerned about whether their homes can withstand extreme weather conditions. For instance, floods are now more frequent in the modern world and people want to know in case of emergency is there house or the building they live in can provide a better shelter to them. Similarly, they have a question in mind that is their home or the building they live in can stand still during an earthquake. People living in apartments in high buildings also becoming interested in looking out if there is an emergency exit or not. Furthermore, nowadays people want to have all facilities in their homes. These are some of the reason why people are taking interest in the history of the house.
People can research about their home and building from different sources which includes browsing on the internet, questioning the local people living nearby and looking the old local newspapers. Google satellite images from the past will be most helpful for the people doing research. These images can answer how the house or building is built and what safety measures were taken during the construction. Questioning the neighborhood will also help to know the history of the house.
In my opinion, people should find out about the history of the house they live in. They should investigate about all the safety measures including the electric wiring, gas connection and emergency exit. People are becoming aware of these things from social media as well as from traditional media which is a positive change.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, but the development of ideas is problematic. The link between 'history of the house' and 'climate change' is tenuous and does not logically explain why people research historical records. The essay focuses more on current safety and structural integrity rather than the historical aspect requested by the prompt. While the second paragraph regarding research methods is relevant, the overall argument lacks depth and fails to fully explore the cultural or personal reasons why individuals might be interested in the history of their homes. To improve, ensure your arguments directly address the specific prompt rather than shifting the focus to general safety concerns.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. For example, the transition 'Furthermore, nowadays people want to have all facilities' does not logically connect to the previous sentences about safety. Additionally, some sentences lack clear logical progression, such as the jump from climate change to emergency exits. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal flow of ideas within paragraphs needs to be more cohesive to achieve a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is a reliance on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'taking interest' and 'people want to'. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'stand still during an earthquake' (better: 'withstand seismic activity') and 'looking out if there is an emergency exit' (better: 'checking for emergency exits'). To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific collocations and avoid repeating basic verbs.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('is there house' instead of 'is their house'), missing articles ('in the modern world'), and awkward phrasing ('is their home or the building they live in can stand still'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic errors would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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