Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-27
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 many countries, majority of the people are becoming very concerned about the history of the place where they live in. It includes houses or the apartments. In this essay, I will describe some of the reasons for this and draw a conclusion.
One of the main reasons for being curious about the history of the particular place where people live would be a safety concern. There are many places in a country which are very old and needs regular inspection. For example, in the UK, there are many houses and buildings which have been built a hundred years ago but are regularly supervised and inspected by the council. A major reason for this could be a safety concern because old buildings are at a risk of structural instability.
City residents could research this at their own by reaching out to the owners of the property. Another solution might be getting the information by the council as they are responsible for the maintenance of high-rise buildings and houses. For instance, it is the foremost responsibility of the council to provide proper security to the community. Furthermore, residents can check the legal records and find the history of the previous owners who had been living there. Neighbors might help in providing the information and area history could reveal a lot of concerning factors such as floods and waterlogging. For example, previous records might help in gaining in depth information about a particular place.
In conclusion, people can gather data about a place through various sources including social media and other local residents.
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 response addresses the two parts of the prompt, discussing reasons why people research building history (such as safety concerns) and ways to research it (through councils, property owners, and neighbors). However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on reasons focuses primarily on safety and structural instability, missing other potential social or cultural motivations. Furthermore, the conclusion introduces new elements like 'social media' that were not previously discussed in the body paragraphs, which weakens the overall cohesion of task delivery. Despite these minor limitations, all parts of the task are touched upon, aligning best with a Band 6.0 descriptor.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays an overall coherent arrangement with basic logical sequencing. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division could be improved—for instance, the second paragraph is quite short and the third paragraph attempts to bundle both research methods and extraneous ideas together. Cohesive devices are used, but some referencing is slightly faulty or mechanical, such as 'getting the information by the council' and abrupt transitions between sentences. There is a tendency for ideas to jump without smooth logical bridges. Progression is discernible, but these flaws place the response firmly in the Band 6.0 category.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'structural instability,' 'regular inspection,' and 'maintenance.' However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as writing 'research this at their own' instead of 'research this on their own' and 'information by the council' instead of 'information from the council.' Additionally, some vocabulary is repetitive, and attempts at less common lexical items occasionally falter. These issues reflect the Band 6.0 descriptor, where vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points but contains avoidable errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar. Examples of successful complex structures include 'There are many places in a country which are very old and needs regular inspection.' However, agreement errors ('which... needs') and prepositional errors ('living there' with redundant prepositions) recur. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies emerge when attempting more complex formulations. Because errors do not seriously impede communication but persist with some frequency, the writing achieves a Band 6.0 for grammatical range and accuracy.
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