Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-14
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 nations, citizens believe that having own apartment is more essential as well as beneficial than renting it for survival. This essay examines that investment and their own preferences regarding house are the reasons for this. From my standpoint, it is completely a negative development because of the constant financial pressure and difficult in migration.
One compelling reason is that people use to believe that buying a own house is a long-term investment. This is to say that house a built for long time period and anyone who is interest in buying them is due to high value that it will offer in the future. For example, if anyone wants to sell their house in future than there are some chance of receiving a higher return for their investment. Furthermore, the decision of buying and renting a house vary from person to person, some of them are interest in building it in their own way which might be not possible in rented one. To clarify, everyone have their own preferences and many of them wants to style their house their own style.
Despite the aforementioned reasons, it seems to me that constructing a house can be constant financial pressure on the buyer. Due to high cost of construction, it can be more expensive and affording it can create a financial pressure. Moreover, many people have to migrate from one place to another because of the transferring nature of their job. So, it can be challenge for those who have no fixed job. For instance, if a person with such job bought a house, then will b difficult for him to manage and maintain that.
In conclusion, renting a house is good option as it is an investment with higher return and offers a freedom. Although it can become a financial pressure and a challenge in some cases.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for home ownership and an opinion on whether it is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the reasons for ownership (investment and personal preference) are clear, the discussion on the negative aspects is slightly repetitive and lacks depth. The conclusion contains a significant error, as it contradicts the body paragraphs by stating that renting is an investment with higher returns, which confuses the reader. To reach a higher band, ensure that your position is consistent throughout and that your arguments are fully supported with clear, logical explanations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Despite the aforementioned reasons', and 'For instance' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is disrupted by grammatical inaccuracies. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'this is the case', which lacks a strong antecedent. The transition between the body paragraphs and the conclusion is weak, and the final summary does not accurately reflect the arguments presented earlier in the essay.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express basic ideas. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'financial pressure', 'long-term investment', and 'transferring nature of their job'. However, there are several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'having own apartment' (missing article), 'people use to believe' (incorrect verb form), and 'difficult in migration' (incorrect part of speech). The range is somewhat limited, and the repetition of words like 'house' and 'pressure' suggests a need for more varied synonyms to improve precision and style.
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 clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('everyone have their own preferences'), missing articles ('buying a own house'), and incorrect verb forms ('people use to believe'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in sentence construction, such as 'if anyone wants to sell their house in future than there are some chance'. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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