Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-31

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)

I agree that, in some countries people are becoming interested in finding out the history of the house or building they live in.

From my perspective, there are two reasons for their interest. Firstly, it is due to the curiosity of the people and then for their safety. Most of the people just want to ensure that the house is safer and not under any complaint of criminal activities. Whereas, other people especially youth generation are influenced by stories and cinemas, they search for some interesting background for the house they live in.

Nevertheless, for the security purpose, we have to check on the history of the house. We can chat with the people around the area of that house about the previous usage of it and in addition to that, we should also check with the local police station by providing the documents of the house, to ensure safer and peaceful life.

It is necessary to check the history of the house we live in. Because, I have a personal experience dealing that, my uncle bought one beautiful house and lived there, after several months, they realized that neighbours are not talking to them, certainly afterwards police came and ask for the person who involved in robbery. After this they found that the previous owner of the house was a robber. He sell the house just to escape from the place.

So in my opinion, it is essential to check the history of the house, to build a protective environment for us and our family.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: curiosity and safety are offered as reasons, and you suggest asking neighbours and contacting the police. The personal story about your uncle also gives a relevant example. However, the reasons are only briefly explained, and the research methods are not fully developed; for instance, you could explain how property records, archives, or previous owners might provide evidence. The opening mainly repeats the prompt rather than establishing a clear position, and the conclusion restates the safety point. The response is 246 words, so it does not meet the 250-word minimum; the 10 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Develop each main idea with more explanation and detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from reasons to research methods, then to an example and conclusion. This helps the reader follow the general direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: “Firstly” is followed by “and then,” while “Nevertheless” introduces a point that continues the previous discussion rather than contrasting with it. The personal example is placed in a separate paragraph, but its connection to the suggested research methods could be made more explicit. Some links are also awkward or repetitive, such as “in addition to that” and repeated references to checking the house’s history. Use clearer topic sentences and choose linking expressions according to the actual relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “curiosity,” “criminal activities,” “previous usage,” and “protective environment.” These choices make the main subject understandable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are unnatural or imprecise, which reduces clarity: “under any complaint of criminal activities,” “youth generation,” and “for the security purpose” do not express the intended meanings naturally. “Safer” is also repeated, and “beautiful house” does not contribute much to the explanation. Aim for more precise collocations and a wider range of terms for researching a property, such as ownership records, local archives, or former occupants. Check word forms and natural phrasing when revising.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the sentence beginning “Whereas” and the longer account of your uncle’s experience. Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors occur often enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “Because, I have a personal experience dealing that” is an incomplete and awkwardly formed sentence, while “He sell the house” has an incorrect verb form. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and punctuation, as in “police came and ask for the person” and the comma after “Because.” Practise forming complete clauses and checking tense consistency, especially when narrating past events. Shorter, accurately controlled sentences would improve clarity.

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

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