Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-23
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)
Home is where love resides, memories are created. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of owning a home rather than renting one is more important. While this trend offers several benefits, it also has notable drawbacks. Therefore, it is neither entirely positive nor negative, and both aspects need to be carefully considered.
On the one hand, this trend offers several advantages. Firstly, owning a home for ourselves makes us rent free. This means that we can live in our own home forever without paying any kind of money to others. For example, if we build a home for ourselves we only need to pay the fund once which can be a big amount. Eventhough, we have to pay a larger figure comparing with monthly rent we still get a house for our own. Furthermore, this house can be used for the upcoming generations too, which helps them to get a good childhood.
On the other hand, there are also notable drawbacks to consider. One major issue is that, some people will be in lifelong debt. This can lead to financial struggles. For instance, a middleclass man who takes loan for buying or building a house will take the tenure of 10 years or more. As a result of this individuals will struggle in maintaining a financial stability. Additionally, if they fail to pay the money back, then the home they bought will be gone too, which may result in affecting the credit score and can affect mentally.
In conclusion, although this trend brings certain benefits, its drawbacks are equally significant. Therefore, it can be seen as both positive and negative overall.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by exploring why home ownership is important and discussing whether this trend is positive or negative. A clear position is stated in the introduction, asserting that it is neither entirely positive nor negative. The ideas are relevant, such as escaping rent and the risks of lifelong debt. However, some arguments are slightly under-developed; for instance, the explanation of how home ownership provides a good childhood for future generations lacks depth and specific support. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.5, which rounds to 6.0 based on standard whole or half-band increments.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is coherent overall with a clear logical arrangement. Information and ideas are organized into distinct paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by body paragraphs addressing advantages and drawbacks respectively, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts, such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, such as 'paying the fund' or 'the home they bought will be gone too, which may result in affecting the credit score and can affect mentally', where the flow and pronoun referencing become slightly awkward. Paragraphing is used sufficiently.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary provides an adequate range for the task, attempting less common items such as 'financial stability', 'lifelong debt', and 'credit score'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and unnatural phrasing throughout the text, such as 'owning a home rather than renting one is more important' (instead of 'is viewed as more important'), 'making us rent free', and 'paying the fund'. Word choice errors like 'affect mentally' instead of 'affect them mentally' demonstrate limitations, but these do not seriously impede overall communication, aligning the response with a Band 6 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'if we build a home for ourselves we only need to pay...'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues present, such as comma splices ('Home is where love resides, memories are created') and missing articles or prepositions ('takes loan', 'a middleclass man'). While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the train of thought without severe difficulty. This corresponds well to the descriptors for Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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