Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some countries owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people. Why might this be the case? Do you think this is a positive or negative situation?

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Nowadays, people prefer to have their own home rather than the rented one. This may be due to several reasons, including expensive rented homes and future stability. I believe, it is a positive development, and I will discuss my view with examples.

In some societies, it is important to own a home because rented houses cost a significant amount every month. This amount can be saved and utilized for an other purposes. For instance, people use that specific amount every month as a installment for buying another property. In addition, it is very difficult to pay rent for those who have low-income or for the individuals who are hand to mouth. Especially, in low-to-middle income countries, people struggle to manage their house hold expenses, pay rent every month would be another challenge.

I consider it a positive development, as it is always advantageous to own a property, like home or apartment. It can secure future and generate monthly income. People who lives in a rented home are always worried about their future, as they know they need to move anytime. In contrast, owning a property gives sense of relaxation and people can focus on other issues. Moreover, people who owns a home, can lives in a part of house, while rent out the remaining place. By this way, they can generate a good amount on monthly basis without doing any additional effort or investment.

In conclusion, people consider to own a home because it is difficult to pay rent for many individuals. Moreover, it stabilize their future and become a source of income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for home ownership and the opinion on whether it is a positive or negative development. The ideas are relevant, such as financial savings and future stability. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'hand to mouth' individuals could be expanded with more specific socio-economic context. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of analysis remains at a basic level, preventing it from reaching a higher band. Overall, all requirements of the task are met, but the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly explored.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In addition', 'In contrast', and 'Moreover', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally logical, moving from the reasons for ownership to the benefits. However, there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by grammatical errors, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different aspects of the prompt, which helps the reader follow the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their meaning clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'installment', 'low-to-middle income', and 'generate monthly income'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'an other purposes' (should be 'other purposes') and 'hand to mouth' (which is an idiom that is slightly misused in this context). The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('people who lives', 'people who owns', 'can lives'), article usage ('the rented one'), and prepositional errors. While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, the student should focus on basic subject-verb agreement and ensure that complex structures are formed correctly without sacrificing accuracy.

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

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