Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-03
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, a lot of families buy the house to show the strong financial situation in society and avoid to pay rent every month. That's why people buy the house for living. This essay will elaborate the preferences of the people to buy the house for positive purpose.
There are several reasons that people buy the house, firstly, there purpose should be based on the living and avoid from paying rent every month, and also feel independent from black mailing of increasing rent and canceling the contract of staying. Secondly people can buy a house for running the school business, like in Pakistan most of the academies are located in house, and people using the house as school business and living with families. Furthermore, the value of the property eventually increased day by day, so every one must buy the for investment purpose. Once you buy a house and live more the five years, and after five years, you can earn more than 20 percent profit on it. And this 10 percent profit can cover unpredictable activities on time.
According to my opinion, this situation is largely positive, because once to buy a house it can consider live time saving and you can sale the house when you needed the money for other purpose. Secondly, when you will buy a double story house, you can live on ground floor and second floor can be use for rental activities or to cover the commercial values. It can also save you from mentally stress.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay 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 limited. While you mention financial security and investment, the explanation is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the point about 'running a school business' is a specific example that is not well-integrated into the broader argument about home ownership. To improve, ensure that each paragraph focuses on a clear, distinct reason and supports it with more detailed reasoning or examples that directly relate to the prompt's core themes of stability and investment.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'That's why people buy the house for living' and 'there purpose should be based on' show issues with logical flow and referencing. Some transitions, such as 'Furthermore' and 'Secondly', are used, but the connection between sentences is sometimes weak, making the progression of ideas feel disjointed. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to previous nouns would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'black mailing of increasing rent' and 'mentally stress'. Additionally, there is some repetition of basic terms like 'buy the house'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to real estate and finance, such as 'property ladder', 'financial stability', or 'long-term asset', and ensure that collocations are used correctly to convey your meaning more naturally.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Common issues include incorrect article usage ('buy the house' instead of 'buy a house'), subject-verb agreement, and preposition errors ('avoid to pay' instead of 'avoid paying'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of these errors limits the score. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for common errors like verb forms and articles will help improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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