Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-17

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 regions of the world, there is a rising interest of many individuals about historical backgrounds of their residencial areas. More and more people are now fond of learning about history of the places where they live in and have rising curosity about the background of their building or their house.

The significant reason for this specific historical interest of many people around different parts of the world can be their love and keeness for history and ancestoral areas of the world and that is why most of the people are prone of researching about history and the background of their accommodation areas. Furthermore, this interest is mainly in the individuals who are fond of history, lifestyles of ancestors and interests of previous generations. For example, i have personally visited some historical palaces in my hometown and each time i have discovered something surprisingly interesting so the interest of many people in history is valid.

People can research on certain buildings and houses through watching podcasts or interviews of the previous residents of that particular place. Moreover, they can research through historical magzines, old recors and historical documents. The major source of researching about history can be social media, nowadays most of the human beings use social platforms for various kinds of researches. In addition, many individuals in the recent time like to visit old historical places by tourists guide and get to know about so much interesting facts about our old eras. Life now has been much more advanced and convinient and that is why people like to see historical places to know how people in the previous generations survived and lived their lives.

For instance, history subjects have been added for people who are fond of it and who want to pursue their career in history and geography. Prior to this and almost a few decades ago there were no such proper subjects at higher education level.

To conclude, this rising interest can be a really positive development in our society. By this people can learn more about our backgrounds and the creativity of out ancestors.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both questions: it suggests that interest comes from a love of history and curiosity about earlier generations, and it names possible research methods such as old records, documents, interviews and social media. The personal example of visiting palaces is relevant, but it supports interest in historical places more than curiosity about the history of one’s own home. Some points are also unclear or only loosely connected to the task, particularly the discussion of history subjects at higher education level. To strengthen the response, explain more directly why residents investigate their own buildings—for example, to discover former owners, architectural changes or family connections—and show how specific sources can reveal those details. The conclusion gives a positive view but does not add much to the explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on research methods, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “Moreover” and “To conclude” help signal movement between points. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven. The research paragraph shifts from interviews and documents to social media, guided visits and then the benefits of studying history, so the central answer becomes less focused. Some connections are also unclear, such as “Prior to this” referring back to the claim about history subjects. Group related methods together and explain how each one helps investigate a particular building. Clearer topic sentences and more precise references would make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response attempts a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “historical documents,” “previous residents,” “ancestors” and “higher education level.” These choices show an effort to discuss history and research, but inaccurate spelling and awkward or repetitive phrasing are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less clear. Examples include “residencial,” “curosity,” “magzines” and “recors,” as well as “prone of researching” and “historical backgrounds of their residencial areas.” Some expressions are also imprecise: “social media” is named as a source without specifying what information it might provide. Aim for accurate spelling and natural collocations, and use more precise terms such as property records, local archives and former occupants.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “that is why” and “who,” and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms recur. For example, “the history of the places where they live in” has an unnecessary final preposition, while “people like to visit old historical places by tourists guide” has an unclear grammatical relationship between the visitors and the guide. The sentence beginning “The significant reason … can be their love” is also long and difficult to control. There are inconsistent capital letters for “I,” and punctuation around long sentences needs attention. Use shorter, more controlled sentences alongside complex ones, and check articles, prepositions and clause structure.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.