Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-18

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 some countries , It is very important for people to own a house rather than rent them. This is mainly due to Higher prices of rents and I believe that this is generally a positive situation because owning a home can reduce financial anxiety and stress.

The main reason for people to own a house is extremely higher charges of rents. In many countries the rents of houses are higher than their monthly income or consumption. So increase in rental prices may lead people to difficulties in managing their monthly expenses. Moreover, prices can also be very high, making it difficut for people with an average salary to afford a home. For example, In many civilised cities the cost of residential places is considerably higher than countryside and it is difficult for a person with ordinary incomes to afford.

I believe that owning a home is largely positive situation because it protects the individual from financial anxiety and stress. Homeowners do not have to worry about rising rents. Furthermore, they do not have to make monthly payments which leads them to save more money for their other needs. For instance a person who has their own house is more financialy secure and calm than a person who have to make payments on a monthly basis.

In conclusion, Owning a house is more important rather than renting one because of higher prices of rental houses and I believe this is generally positive due to the fact that person can feel more financially calm and stress free.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring reasons why homeownership is important and providing a clear position that this is a positive situation. In the body paragraphs, the student attempts to extend ideas regarding rental prices and financial anxiety, such as the statement that homeowners 'do not have to make monthly payments which leads them to save more money for their other needs.' However, some points are repetitive or under-developed, and the phrasing occasionally generalizes loosely, as seen in 'In many civilised cities the cost of residential places is considerably higher.' Despite these limitations, the central demands of the task are met clearly and relevantly, aligning well with the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the reasons for buying versus the positive impacts of homeownership. Cohesive devices are employed, including transition words like 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as in the concluding sentence where phrasing repeats earlier ideas. Furthermore, article usage and punctuation around transitions need tighter control, but the logical progression remains clear enough to follow without significant difficulty, supporting a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'financial anxiety', 'residential places', and 'financially secure'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, along with spelling mistakes, such as writing 'difficut' instead of 'difficult' and 'financialy' instead of 'financially'. Expressions like 'civilised cities' are also slightly unnatural in this context. While these errors do not impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score to a solid Band 6.0, as the precision and flexibility expected at higher bands are not consistently demonstrated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses and conditional-style reasoning ('a person who has their own house is more financialy secure'). There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including capitalization issues ('In some countries , It is very important'), missing articles ('higher prices of rents'), and punctuation mistakes. While these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede overall communication, meaning the reader can readily understand the intended message. This combination of a mixed structural range and frequent minor errors fits the Band 6.0 descriptor closely.

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

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