Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-07

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)

The significance of home ownership is far higher in some countries compared to renting. This might be due to people's preferences and inflation. I believe it is a positive development, as it influences and alleviates the population of that country.

The choice of having a home has more to do with getting hold of their residence, as more and more tenants around the globe have been sharing the same concern about the higher amount of rents and lower household incomes. To counter this situation people tend to buy a house as early as possible and to secure their future. For instance, Pakistan's house rents have blown in the past couple of years and in major cities like Islamabad and Lahore, people are spending half of their paycheck just for housing. This is why people tend to spend on a residence as their first instinct.

The idea of buying a house is not new and has been here for almost a century. Owning a house has made many changes to economics of the specific country as more and more houses are bought the need to build more is on the increase which provides employment and also provides necessary infrastructure for the country's development. It is also especially true for changing financials of tenants as more and more houses are owned the need for renting a house decreases significantly which in return drops the rental prices across the country.

To conclude, it is pretty evident that changing economics and choices of people have played a major role and has infact improved the overall situation of the country and its residence.

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 development is somewhat uneven. The explanation regarding economic benefits is a bit generic and lacks depth. While you mention Pakistan as an example, the link between individual home ownership and national infrastructure development is not fully explained or logically connected. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are more thoroughly supported with clear, logical steps rather than broad generalizations. Your position is clear, but the supporting arguments could be more nuanced.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a central theme. There is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'This is why people tend to spend on a residence as their first instinct' or 'it is pretty evident that'. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the transitions between sentences could be smoother to improve the flow. Referencing is generally clear, but some sentences feel slightly disconnected from the preceding ones.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'inflation', 'infrastructure', and 'tenants'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations. For example, 'getting hold of their residence' is unnatural, and 'house rents have blown' is an incorrect use of the verb 'blow' in this context. Additionally, 'influences and alleviates the population' is vague and does not clearly convey your intended meaning. To improve, focus on learning collocations—words that naturally go together—and using more precise academic terminology.

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 frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('economics of the specific country as more and more houses are bought the need... is on the increase') and punctuation errors. Some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'it is pretty evident that changing economics and choices of people have played a major role and has infact improved'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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