Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29
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 various countries, people want to know more about the past details of the house or building they live in. The reasons for this might be their concern regarding the building's construction and reputation.
Many people want to know about the history of the place they live in. One reason of this could be, they might want to make sure that building is strongly constructed. The other could be, some people are just superstitious and to be completely relaxed in their houses they may want to know weather any negative events associated with the place. However, they could research the place online before buying it or inquire about it in the nearby places and people already living there.
Firstly, they would want to know about the place they live in to ensure that building is constructed properly, as it is highly important for their safety from the natural disasters such as earthquake. Moreover, this might be related to their mental relaxation, few people are superstitious, and knowing nothing bad occurred in the place they are living give them a sense of peace and relieve. For example, if people who used to live there were usually ill, they would believe that they also might become ill in this place.
To research about the place they could do a few things including researching it online or asking about it from the nearby place or the people already living there. While there are many online sites to research about the place's history, they could also ask the previous owner how it was constructed. Moreover, asking nearby people would also be satisfying and relieving as they would know if any crime or negative event associated with the place.
To conclude, it is important to inquire about the place before you start living there as you will be mentally satisfied with it and it's quite easier to do so because of the internet.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring reasons why people research the history of their homes, such as safety regarding natural disasters and superstitious beliefs about negative events, and explaining methods of research like using the internet or consulting local residents. However, the development of ideas tends to be repetitive, especially in the body paragraphs where points about safety and asking neighbors are reiterated across multiple sections without much new expansion. The position is generally clear, but the limited depth of supporting examples keeps the response at a Band 6.5 level. To reach higher bands, the writer should develop distinct, well-rounded arguments rather than repeating similar concepts.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a logical overall progression, moving from an introduction to reasons, methods of research, and a concise conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate ideas, with body paragraphs dedicated to reasons and research methods respectively. However, cohesive devices are at times mechanical or somewhat repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'Moreover' and 'Firstly'. Referencing is generally clear, but transitions between sentences can feel abrupt, which impacts the overall flow. While the organisation is clear enough to follow easily, the occasional mechanical application of cohesive features places this criterion firmly within the Band 6 descriptor.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their ideas effectively. There are attempts at less common vocabulary such as 'superstitious', 'construction', and 'reputation', though some awkward word choices and lexical slips appear, such as writing 'weather any negative events' instead of 'whether' and 'relieve' instead of 'relief'. Spelling is mostly accurate with minor lapses. The range of vocabulary is sufficient for flexibility and precision in places, but overall the lexical control aligns well with a Band 6 score due to these recurring inaccuracies and somewhat basic phrasing in key parts of the essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over relative clauses and conditional structures. However, noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing occur throughout the text, such as missing articles ('ensure that building is constructed', 'from the natural disasters'), spelling confusion ('weather' instead of 'whether'), and slight prepositional errors ('research about the place'). These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent the writing from achieving a Band 7. The majority of sentences contain minor structural or mechanical slips, fitting the profile of Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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