Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-22

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, people prefer to own their home rather than renting one. I firmly belive that this is a positive situation not only because of own personal space and managing things selfly but also because of own safe place in case of any fallback.

Many people prefer owning a home because it gives them their own personal space where they can live openly and don't need to pay for it. People who have their own houses do not need to follow the rules and instructions of anyone because they own these houses. Furthermore, another subsequent advantage of this is that you can manage and maintain you house with own thoughts. You don't need anyone's permission to change anything. For instance, in Pakistan, many people prefer to own a house because it gives them more comfort and independency as compared to rented one.

Another significant advantage of having own house is that it gives you a risk free place to live in case of any financial loss and other loss. Moreover, it gives you more opportunites such as re-design the house, re-build it and expand rooms with your own choice. For instance, many people have rented houses and they spend their entire money in their businesses. In case of any loss in business, they may not be able to pay rent for houses. In that critical situation, they do not have any place to cover their heads or live.

In conclusion, although it is negative situation for other individuals, I personally argue that it is beneficial for many people in the case of financial loss, rebuilding with permission and live openly and securely.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by explaining why home ownership is important and discussing whether this is a positive or negative situation. Your position is stated in the introduction, where you firmly declare it to be a positive situation, and maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas are somewhat repetitive and lack deeper extension. For instance, the points about personal space and freedom in the second paragraph are echoed again in the third paragraph and the conclusion. While you provide relevant examples, such as mentioning Pakistan, the development remains basic rather than fully extended. This places the response comfortably at Band 6, as all parts are addressed with relevant ideas, though some areas suffer from under-development and repetition.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a recognizable four-paragraph structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Phrases such as 'Furthermore, another subsequent advantage' display redundancy, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the phrase 'other individuals' in the conclusion. Progression is visible, but the logical flow between sentences and paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions and repetitive sentence structures. This performance aligns with the Band 6 descriptor, where cohesion can be somewhat faulty or mechanical, though the overall structure remains coherent.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your main points about home ownership. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'independency', 'critical situation', and 'financial loss', but these are accompanied by lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'managing things selfly', 'own safe place', and 'cover their heads'. There are also issues with word forms, such as 'rented one' instead of 'rented homes'. While communication is not impeded, the frequent lexical inaccuracies and repetition of basic terms prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. This corresponds to a Band 6 score, reflecting an adequate range with some attempts at less common items that contain inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the essay, using subordinating conjunctions like 'because' and 'although'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that persist, such as 'I firmly belive that this is a positive situation not only because of own personal space', 'maintain you house with own thoughts', and 're-design the house, re-build it and expand rooms with your own choice'. Punctuation and article usage also show noticeable flaws. While these errors do not impede overall communication and the meaning remains clear, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. This matches the Band 6 descriptor, which notes a mix of structures with errors that rarely impede understanding.

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

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