Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-21
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)
Today, more and more people want to know the history of the house or building they live in. This essay will explain why this is happening and how can find this information.
There are two main reason why people are curious about their home's past. First, people have a matural curiosity about their living space. They want to know how lived there before them and what their lives were like. This helps them feel a stronger connection to their home and neighourhoof. Second, knowing the history is usefull for practical reasons. Foe example, if a homwowner wants to repair or renovate an old house, they need tonknow what materials were used in past. This knowlege can also increase the property financial value.
Finding this information has become quit easy today. The best way to start it by looking public records. People can visit local government offices to check old land documents, maps, and census data. These records show exactky when the house was built and who owned ot over the years. Another simple method is using the internet. Many local libraries and historical societies have websites with photoes and newspapper online.
In conclusion, people research their homes because of personal curiosity and practical needs. By checking public documents, searching online and talking to neighbors,anyone can easily discover the history of their building.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The candidate addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the reasons why people research their homes and how they can do so. Ideas are identified and supported with relevant points, such as personal curiosity and practical renovation needs. However, the response has a noticeable weakness in task completion due to length: the text contains 222 words, which falls short of the required 250-word minimum. This negative impact on length restricts the depth of idea development, preventing the essay from scoring higher in Task Achievement. Despite this penalty, the content remains clear and directly relevant to the prompt, warranting a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into four distinct paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs covering reasons and methods, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'First', 'Second', 'For example', and 'Another simple method'. However, referencing and cohesion can be slightly mechanical. There are also occasional cohesion issues, such as the missing auxiliary verb in the introduction ('how can find this information'). Paragraphing is appropriately handled, and overall, the logical flow is easy to follow, supporting a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words such as 'renovate', 'homwowner', 'census data', and 'historical societies'. However, there are numerous spelling and typographical errors throughout the text, including 'matural' for natural, 'neighourhoof' for neighborhood, 'usefull', 'Foe' for For, 'homwowner', 'tonknow', 'knowlege', 'quit' for quite, 'photoes', 'nospapper', and 'ot' for it. These lexical errors indicate a lack of precision, though they rarely impede overall communication. The range is minimally sufficient for Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, showing some control over grammar. Examples include 'Today, more and more people want to know...' and 'If a homeowner wants to repair or renovate an old house, they need to know...'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as the direct question structure used incorrectly in a dependent clause ('how can find this information') and missing articles or subject-verb agreement errors ('how lived there'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor errors place this writing firmly at Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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