Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-26

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)

It is often considered in many countries that having own home is more beneficial than renting one because people can live independently in their own house. While the maintenance of one's own home requires a lot of responsibilities, I think this is a positive situation in most of the countries.

There are several reasons why people like to have their own home instead of a rented house. Firstly, they can live freely there without any supervision of a landlord and the rules and bindings that are often required to maintain. The second reason is that individuals can decorate their house by their choices, such as making an extension of the backyard or changing the paint of the walls.

In addition, living in one's own house provides them with mental satisfaction and a sense of certainity. They do not have to be bothered by monthly rent or changing the dwelling frequently. Moreover, house ownership keeps them apart from the tension of settlement, which helps them focus on developing other parts of their lives, like purchasing a car or inventing in a business. Another important fact is that in developed countries like Canada, USA, dwellers get home loans that help them build houses easily. Because of these positive situat, people in many countries prefer buying houses to live as a tenant.

However, being a house owner comes with numerous responsibilities. To begin with, individual has to monitor the utilities and pay bills regularly to run the house smoothly. Furthermore, people often face difficulties when they need to shift their town due to study or work. Nevertheless, these problems can be overcome if they plan and uphold accordingly.

To conclude, there might be some issues owing a home, however, the

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 the writer's opinion on whether this is positive or negative. The ideas are relevant, such as the freedom from landlord supervision and the sense of security. However, the conclusion is incomplete, which impacts the overall development of the argument. While the position is clear, the final paragraph fails to provide a summary or a final thought, leaving the essay feeling unfinished. To reach a higher band, ensure that all sections, including the conclusion, are fully developed to support the main argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is generally coherent, with a clear paragraph structure. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as the benefits of ownership or the associated responsibilities. Cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'In addition', and 'However' are used to link ideas. However, the abrupt ending of the essay significantly disrupts the flow and logical progression. The referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a completed concluding sentence makes the overall structure feel mechanical and incomplete. Improving the transition between paragraphs and ensuring a full conclusion would enhance the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'supervision', 'certainty', and 'utilities'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'inventing in a business' (likely meaning 'investing') and 'uphold accordingly' (which is vague in this context). The range is sufficient to communicate the main points, but more precise and sophisticated vocabulary would be needed for a higher band score. Spelling is generally accurate, though 'certainity' is misspelled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'having own home' (missing article), 'rules and bindings that are often required to maintain' (awkward phrasing), and 'individual has to monitor' (missing article). There are also minor punctuation and agreement issues throughout. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on article usage and subject-verb agreement would improve the accuracy of the writing.

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

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