Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-31

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 many countries owning a home is considered a major life goal people often prefer buying over renting for several key reasons financial security owning property builds long term equity instead of paying monthly rent to a landlord mortgage payment contribute towards owning a valuable asset that can appreciate over time home owner do not have to worry about sudden rent increases or being evicted by a landlord they also have the total freedom to renovate decorate and modify their living space to their personal needs owning a house is often as a symbol off success maturity and and stability within the community whether this culture emphasis is positive or negative depends on how accessible housing is this mind set encourage long term saving and financial discipline owning a house provides families with emotional security and a permanent place to raise children high home ownership rates can also strengthen local neighborhoods as residents tend to invest more time and efforts into their community the negative side . when home owner ship is viewed as the only success it creates immense financal pressure high housing prices can force young people into heavy debt or make them failure if they cannot afford to buy furthermore owning a house reduces flexivilty making it harder for people to move to other cities for good jobs overall wanting to own a home is positive because stability and wealth genration

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 an opinion on whether this is positive or negative. However, the essay is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. While the reasons (financial security, autonomy) and the evaluation (positive for stability, negative for debt/flexibility) are relevant, the points are presented in a somewhat list-like fashion without sufficient elaboration or examples. The conclusion is abrupt and lacks a full summary of the arguments. To improve, you should expand on your points with specific examples or logical consequences to meet the length requirement and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks clear paragraphing, which is essential for a Band 6 or higher. The text is presented as a single block, making it difficult for the reader to follow the transition between the reasons for ownership and the evaluation of the situation. While there is a logical progression of ideas—moving from financial benefits to social benefits and then to the negative aspects—the lack of paragraph breaks and limited use of cohesive devices (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') makes the structure feel mechanical and underdeveloped. Using clear topic sentences and linking words would significantly improve the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some relevant terms like 'equity', 'appreciate', 'financial discipline', and 'wealth generation'. However, there are several spelling errors ('financal', 'flexivilty') and minor collocation issues ('culture emphasis' instead of 'cultural emphasis'). The range is somewhat limited, and the repetition of basic structures hinders the expression of more nuanced ideas. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure correct spelling, as these errors occasionally distract the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, they are often marred by grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('owning a house is often as a symbol off success'), subject-verb agreement issues ('mortgage payment contribute'), and punctuation errors. The lack of proper sentence boundaries (run-on sentences) makes some parts difficult to parse. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of complex structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, and pay closer attention to basic subject-verb agreement and punctuation to ensure clarity.

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

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