Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-12

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 in this economy instead of renting an apartment has become important for people in some of the countries mainly due to the increasing rent rates and other future security purposes. Even though buying a home is costly and needs a stable income I believe this is a positive situation for humans as they get a secure own home instead of constantly searching for houses.

Buying your own home gives you long term financial security, personal freedom and stability. It builds wealth through equity, protects you from the rising rent and gives a safe space for your family. As an epitome, while people are living in rented apartments they have constant fear of changing and adjusting in new places whereas people having their own place do not have to worry about the same. After paying rent for years and years, they do not have any security in the property but if they own it, the rates of real estate go up every time.

Contrastively, Living in rented house profits in the way that if you do not like the atmosphere of the home or the area you could change the apartment anytime you want to which is not the same for living in own homes. However, proper research and guidance can avoid such situations as owning a home is still a positive situation for human beings.

In conclusion, I strongly believe owning a home in this era is necessary for people rather than renting one and this is a good situation for them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the importance of home ownership and your opinion on whether this is a positive or negative situation. You have a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention 'financial security' and 'equity', these points are not fully explored or explained in depth. The example provided ('As an epitome...') is a bit confusing in its phrasing and does not effectively illustrate the point about real estate appreciation. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is elaborated with a clear explanation or a more concrete, logical example.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Even though', 'Contrastively', and 'In conclusion', to link your thoughts. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'As an epitome', which is not standard usage in this context. Additionally, the referencing within sentences could be smoother to improve the flow. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within the second paragraph could be strengthened by using a wider variety of linking words.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'financial security', 'equity', and 'real estate'. However, there are some instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations. For example, 'As an epitome' is used incorrectly; 'For instance' or 'To illustrate' would be more appropriate. The phrase 'future security purposes' is also slightly unnatural. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, there is a lack of more sophisticated or 'less common' lexical items that would be required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings. For instance, 'in some of the countries' should be 'in some countries', and 'living in rented house' should be 'living in a rented house'. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles with countable nouns.

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

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