Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-25

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 few countries buying an accommodation is preferred than getting a rented apartment. I believe people are more considerable towards their future and would prefer to invest in owning a house than spending money on rented apartment.

There are various observations supporting to buy house instead of renting an apartment. These days accommodation costs are less affordable and this will rapidly increase in future as well. To secure our furture with an intangible asset is the wisest thought. Since accommodations are costly and many would not be able to buy, we do have various options to pay in installments if you provide work security for the rest of the payments.

These days people are buying even small houses as they believe these can get them the double amount in future in which they might have purchased.This idea of investment will help the individual for their retirement period where they do not have to pay rents. And their next generation would not have to worry about the accommodation cost and live happily together.

On the other hand if you rent an apartment, you need to pay half of your salary for rent and rest for the household expenditure and you may end up saving nothing for your future.In a country on an average more than 60% of middle class families live in rented apartments last year and now it is decreased to 40% as they are more ambitious about owning a property.

In conclusion, many people in few countries prefers to own a house rather than getting the rented one.I believe it is a positive development where the individual secure future of their children and live a peacefull retirement phase.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt by explaining why homeownership is preferred and offering a clear opinion on whether this trend is positive or negative. The writer discusses financial security, investment returns, and retirement benefits. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed or general, such as the statistical claim regarding middle-class families shifting from renting to owning. While the position is maintained throughout, the supporting arguments would benefit from greater depth and broader elaboration to reach a higher band. Overall, the task is adequately addressed in line with Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is arranged with a clear overarching structure, featuring an introduction, body paragraphs addressing the prompt's two aspects, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion within and between sentences is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases feel abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in sentences like 'These days people are buying even small houses as they believe these can get them the double amount in future in which they might have purchased.' These issues place the response firmly in Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common phrases such as 'intangible asset,' 'work security,' and 'retirement period.' However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'In few countries buying an accommodation is preferred than getting a rented apartment' instead of 'In some countries, buying a home is preferred to renting,' and 'more considerable towards their future.' While these inaccuracies occasionally hinder precision, communication is not impeded, fitting the Band 6 criteria well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as missing articles ('buying house instead of renting'), incorrect prepositions ('supporting to buy house'), and tense usage issues. For instance, 'last year and now it is decreased' mixes past and present incorrectly. Punctuation errors are also present, particularly missing spaces after commas and periods. These errors occur regularly but rarely impede overall communication, reflecting a Band 5.5 to 6.0 performance, rounded to a solid 6.0.

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

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