Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-26

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 many countries, an increasing number of people are paying interest to find out about the history of the homes or building they live in. This is mainly because of people's curiosity about their properties and their historical value, while official records, local residents and online sources can provide useful information.

There are several reasons why people are interested in learning about the history of their homes. One of the main reason is curiousity, people often interested to know who previously lived in that house, when it was built and who built their house. Another reason is the cultural value of traditional house in todays society. For instance, some old houses like palace of any king has some unique architectural features as compare to nowadays houses, which can attract multiple of individuals or even tourists.

There are some ways in which people can research the history of their homes. One effective method is to check official record. Local authority have property document, map and record that show when the building was constructed. In addition to this, people can search on internet, newspaper, and historical websites for old photographs and articles about home. Moreover, people can speak with previous owner or neighbours because they have knowledge about the past about property which is not mentioned in documents.

In conclusion, people may interested to know the histrory of their property due to their curiousity and historical value of that property. They can learn history about their house by checking official record or speaking with the natives of that home.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses both parts of the prompt by explaining the reasons behind people's interest in building history and outlining methods to research it. In the body paragraphs, the student presents relevant ideas, such as curiosity about previous occupants, architectural features, official records, and local interviews. However, some ideas are a bit repetitive or under-developed, particularly when discussing cultural value and historical websites. Examples like the 'palace of any king' are slightly simplistic and lack detailed extension. Overall, all parts of the prompt are addressed with a clear stance, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs focusing respectively on reasons and research methods, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'One of the main reason is' and 'In addition to this.' Referencing is occasionally slightly unclear, as seen in the concluding sentence where 'their property' and 'that home' create slight ambiguity in pronoun reference. Despite these flaws, the logical progression is generally maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'architectural features', 'historical websites', and 'local authority'. However, there are noticeable word-form and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'paying interest' instead of 'taking an interest', 'curiousity' (spelling error), 'todays society', 'multiple of individuals', and 'histrory'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they restrict the lexical score to Band 6, as the vocabulary lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors present, particularly with subject-verb agreement and pluralisation, such as 'One of the main reason is curiousity, people often interested', 'traditional house in todays society', and 'Local authority have property document'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors persist and cause occasional hesitation for the reader, they rarely impede communication, placing the performance solidly within Band 6.

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

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