Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-21

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)

Yeah of course, owning a home is very important in some countries like India apart from renting it. This is because of most of the people are categorized based on this factor, either rich or poor. When earth was young, our ancestors used have there own home and believed homeless people were poor and untouchable. Such an ideology remained in the people. In order to have respect in the society most of the middle class people purchase or build their home by lending money from someone.

I believe owing a home rather than renting it has both positive and negative aspects.

Looking at the positives, most of the families can be self independent if they own home. In a country like India owning a home will help to seek respect from their surroundings. Owning a home is very beneficial because, it will help to increase their assets and their royalty in fellow citizens. An individual can take loan in the banks on his/her home. Owing a home facilitates children to enjoy a lot in stable environment.

Even the owners can make money with their own home renting it.

Coming to the negatives, most of the people purchase their home by lending loan from someone, this could actually make that person to risk his entire life if his/her financial situation is bad. For such kind of people renting a home is far better than owning a home. But they face huge criticism in the society of India. But leaving it behind and making decisions according to the financial situation helps to stand in the society.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

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 it is positive or negative. However, the development is somewhat superficial. The explanation regarding historical context is slightly tangential and lacks academic focus. While the positive and negative aspects are identified, the arguments—such as 'royalty in fellow citizens'—are not fully developed or clearly explained. The position is clear, but the supporting points would benefit from more depth and logical expansion to reach a higher band. The tone is occasionally informal, which detracts from the academic nature of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally awkward, such as 'Coming to the negatives' and 'But leaving it behind'. The transition between the historical background and the current societal view is abrupt. While there is a logical flow, the referencing is sometimes unclear, and the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved to ensure that each sentence builds effectively upon the previous one. Paragraphing is present but could be more effectively utilized to separate distinct ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and sophistication expected at higher levels. There are several instances of awkward word choices or non-standard collocations, such as 'royalty in fellow citizens' (likely meaning social status or prestige) and 'lending loan' (which is grammatically incorrect; one 'takes out' or 'obtains' a loan). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic descriptors. To improve, you should focus on using more precise academic terminology and ensuring that collocations are natural and accurate in the context of the topic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'most of the people are categorized' (unnecessary 'of'), 'ancestors used have there own home' (missing 'to' and incorrect 'their'), and 'take loan in the banks' (missing article). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors indicates a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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