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)

In some countries is widely belived that owning a home, rather than renting one, is something significant for people's lifes.

My opinion is that this conviction is positive and, moreover, part of the human need to look for stability in different fields.

It is undeniable that renting an appartment has some benefits, for example having more flexibility to move to another cities or having to pay fewer fees. Moreover the majority of people have not the financial stability to buy their own home and, often, are forced to ask for a bank loan.

In addition to that, the rent fees are not unnecessary expenses because, in reality people are paying to use a service (an home in this situation).

However, one susbstancial difference from renting an home and owning one, is the fact that, when a person decides to change place or just to change his house, he does not own anything despite the financial engagement he has undergoned. It is also relevant to consider the social aspect of this matter: for main years and for different reasons, to own an house was a sign of financial stability as well as an investement. If in addition to that we consider that in this last period there are more and more this we use and we do not own, this desider to be owners of their house is an absolutely justified feeling.

So, I am confident to affirm that the people's need to own the place where they live is a positive situation. People have to have secure that their most basical and foundamental object (their home), is really their and, despite their financial of familiar problem, they have a roof over their head.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: explaining why home ownership is important and expressing a clear opinion on whether this is positive or negative. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for stability and the concept of a home as an investment. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of why it is a positive situation could be more deeply explored with more specific examples or nuanced arguments. While the position is clear throughout, the supporting points in the second and third paragraphs are slightly repetitive and could benefit from more sophisticated logical progression to fully meet the criteria for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition to that', 'However', and 'Moreover' are used to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing and some mechanical use of transitions. For instance, the transition between the discussion of renting and the social aspect of ownership is a bit abrupt. Referencing is generally clear, but the internal structure of some sentences makes the progression of ideas feel slightly disjointed at times. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different aspects of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices or minor errors, such as 'financial engagement he has undergoned' (undergone) and 'main years' (many years). The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'financial stability' and 'investment', which is positive. However, there are also spelling errors like 'appartment', 'susbstancial', and 'foundamental'. To improve, the student should focus on more accurate collocations and ensure that vocabulary is used in a natural, idiomatic way.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's flow. Examples include 'In some countries is widely belived' (missing subject), 'have not the financial stability' (incorrect word order), and 'desider to be owners' (incorrect word form). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage throughout the text. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. A greater focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

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

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