Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-19

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 6.0)

There is an ongoing debate among individuals on whether home ownership is better than paying rent. While renting a house can be highly beneficial , I believe owning a home fosters self fulfillment and accumulation of savings and therefore a positive development.

To begin with, when one owns a home it can lead to saving more money for other emergencies or ventures whenever they arise. Investments towards home ownership come with greater returns since money that would have been used to pay rent if well utilised is accumulated in the banks or saccos. For instance, sacco savings can be deposited as shares, earning dividends at the end of the year. Consequently, an individual has extra amount of money from such financial institutions whenever emergencies crop up without having to apply for loans.

Additionally, home ownership can create a feeling of self satisfaction. Where an individual can feel over the moon for having achieved such a milestone especially when it appeared initially as a hard decision to make. For example, having a free space where a person moves freely without restriction,is itself self satisfactory. While renting homes comes with limited freedom, home owners are self decision makers and live peacefully in their own environment away from orders. By leading a self fulfilling lifestyle, pressures of life significantly decline thereby life expectancy is prolonged.

In conclusion, while residing in a rented space can have its own merits, I believe a home owner saves more money and leads a self fulfilling life, therefore a positive development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the importance of home ownership and the writer's opinion on whether it is a positive or negative situation. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'sacco savings' is quite specific and could have been broadened to discuss general financial stability or equity. The second body paragraph relies on somewhat repetitive phrasing like 'self-satisfactory' and 'self-fulfilling'. To reach a higher band, the ideas need more depth and a broader scope of analysis beyond personal feelings and specific local financial practices.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs. There is a progression of ideas from financial benefits to psychological satisfaction. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Additionally', and 'Consequently' are used to link sentences and paragraphs effectively. However, the use of referencing is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel slightly repetitive. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the central topic of each paragraph is clearly identifiable. To improve, the writer should aim for a more varied range of cohesive devices to ensure the flow between sentences feels more natural and less formulaic.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'milestone' and 'ventures', which are used correctly. However, there is a reliance on repetitive phrasing, particularly with the prefix 'self-' (e.g., 'self-fulfillment', 'self-satisfaction', 'self-decision makers', 'self-fulfilling'). Some collocations are slightly awkward, such as 'over the moon' which is too informal for an academic essay. Expanding the range of synonyms and using more precise academic collocations would significantly improve the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips and punctuation errors, such as the missing space after the comma in 'restriction,is' and the awkward phrasing in 'thereby life expectancy is prolonged'. The use of articles and prepositions is occasionally inconsistent. While the errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring more precise control over punctuation and sentence construction would be beneficial.

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

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