Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-13

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)

Housing crisis has become most concerning problem in many countries. In that way, it is often argued that taking an ownership of a home is important instead of renting. However, It is a positive development. As it gives more freedom and redemption from the burden of rent. This essay will dicuss the reason to strengthen my perspective.

First of all, the ownership of home gives more freedom then a rented house. If a person has the ownership, he can make any kind of changes as he wants such as changing color or changing interior. For example, people who lives in a rented house or apartment, must have to take permission of the homeowner before making any minimal change in the property.

Moreover, the home ownership makes people free from the burden of rent. In rented property, on the first date of every month the tenants have to pay rent, which adds additional burden on them.

In addition, people can use it to generate more income. If the owned property is not in use then individuals can give it on rent. By renting that property, owners can generate additional income from that property. Furthermore, the home owenership gives the sense of independence to people. For instance, in country like India, where are not having enough money to fulfill their basic needs, in that case, if a person purchase a new home then it would give him sense of independence and confidence.

In conclusion, there are many other reasons as well except freedom and redemption from rent. Therefore, I believe that it is a positive development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, examining both why homeownership is important and whether this is a positive or negative situation. A clear position is maintained throughout, concluding that homeownership is a positive development. Key reasons such as freedom, financial relief, and a sense of independence are introduced and supported with explanations and examples. However, some ideas lack full extension and suffer from slight over-generalisation. For instance, the example regarding India in the third body paragraph is slightly underdeveloped and broad. Despite these minor limitations in depth, all core requirements of the prompt are covered adequately, placing the response solidly in the band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a clear focus, moving from an introduction to reasons concerning freedom, financial benefits, and concluding remarks. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Moreover', and 'In addition' are employed to structure the response, though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately, dividing the introduction, body points, and conclusion distinctly. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the introductory sentence contains a fragment and abrupt transition that slightly disrupt the flow. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for a band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'redemption', 'interior', and 'independence'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. For example, phrases like 'taking an ownership of a home' and 'give it on rent' are unnatural, and 'owenership' suffers from a spelling error. Additionally, terms like 'most concerning problem' lack necessary determiners. While these lexical errors do not impede overall communication, they restrict the vocabulary score to a band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at conditional structures and relative clauses. However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the response. Examples include sentence fragments ('However, It is a positive development. As it gives...'), subject-verb agreement issues ('people who lives'), and awkward phrasing ('where are not having enough money'). Punctuation and article usage also show recurrent inaccuracies, such as missing articles ('in country like India'). Although these errors do not obscure the general meaning of the text, they prevent the grammar score from reaching higher bands, aligning best with a band 5.5.

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