Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-10

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)

Owning a home provides you with easiness and peace. In my view, it is a far better option than opting for renting one.

Nowadays, renting has become a very challenging task for citizen. Because of owners being more arrogant, they mount immense pressure on the tenants, resulting them to face same problems all over again. Furthermore, maintenance of the furniture, paying rent on time, looking after the areas which needs renovations and etc. This creates a misunderstanding between the owner and tenants, resulting in disputes, legal issues, or even eviction. Sometimes, the matter remains unsolved and judges have to interfere between their private conflict. People suffer from mental issues, and the burden of carrying their family makes them suffer.

In contrast, owning a home keep you away from all of these issues, You can take care of it in your own way, leading to peace and prosperity among the family as there is no involvement of the third party. Everything is the owner's responsibility, and he has to take care of his belongings. Being the owner of the property also provides your family with a sense of security, in the present and future. But there are numerous responsibilities on your shoulders, for instance, renovating the old areas, applying fresh paint, taking care of water leakage, paying bills on time and many more. It's not easy at all, you have to go through several difficulties.

In conclusion, people do offer owning a house rather than renting one. It is generally believed that, people with the outmost respect in the society always have property to their name. It not only shows how wealthy they are, but also depicts their skills and abilities to handle such situations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the importance of home ownership and an opinion on whether this is positive or negative. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The reasons provided for ownership are clear, but the discussion regarding whether it is a positive or negative situation is less balanced. While you mention that ownership brings 'peace and prosperity,' you also acknowledge the 'numerous responsibilities,' which creates a slightly contradictory stance. To reach a higher band, ensure your position is consistent and that your arguments are fully extended with more specific examples or logical consequences rather than just listing potential issues.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore,' 'In contrast,' and 'In conclusion' to link ideas. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing or abrupt transitions, such as the list in the second paragraph ('maintenance of the furniture, paying rent on time... and etc.'). The use of 'and etc.' is informal and should be avoided in academic writing. Additionally, some sentences are fragmented or lack clear logical progression, which makes the overall structure feel slightly mechanical rather than fluid.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant topic-specific terms like 'tenants,' 'eviction,' and 'property.' However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'easiness' (which should be 'ease' or 'convenience') and 'outmost respect' (which should be 'utmost'). The phrase 'mount immense pressure' is a good collocation, but overall, the vocabulary lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher bands. Expanding your range of collocations and avoiding informal fillers would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the quality of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('owning a home keep you away'), incorrect preposition use, and awkward sentence construction ('resulting them to face same problems'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some comma splices and missing articles. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence patterns and proofreading for common errors like subject-verb agreement and article usage, as these errors currently occur frequently enough to distract the reader.

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

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