Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-30

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, owning a home is considered much more important than renting one. This is mainly because home ownership is with financial security, social status and long-term stability. Although this view has several advantages, it can also create financial and social problems.

There are several reasons why people prefer to own their homes. Firstly, owning a property provides a sense of security because people do not have to worry about increasing rents or being asked to leave. Additionally, a house can be considered a long-term investment. If property prices increase, homeowners may benefit financially in the future. Owning a home is also a sign of success and independence.

This situation has some clear advantages. For families, owning a home can provide greater control over their living environment and may reduce housing costs .However, there are disadvantages as well. In places where home ownership is strongly valued, people may feel pressured to purchase property even when they cannot comfortably afford it. This can result in large debts and financial stress. Furthermore, high demand for property may contribute to rising house prices, making it increasingly difficult for lower income people to buy a home.

In conclusion, for my prespective, owning a home is largely for security, financial investment and social status. While home ownership can provide long-term stability and financial benefits, excessive pressure to own property can lead to debt and make housing less affordable. Therefore, both owning and renting can have advantages depending on an intergenerational living financial circumstances.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, exploring reasons why homeownership is valued such as financial security and social status, and discussing both advantages and disadvantages. However, the candidate's position becomes slightly confusing at the very end with a non-sequitur regarding "an intergenerational living financial circumstances." Furthermore, as noted in the length check, the essay is 1 word short of the 250-word minimum, which restricts the depth of idea development and pulls the task achievement score down. While the main ideas are relevant and supported, the under-length nature prevents a fuller exploration, placing the response squarely at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is coherent overall with a clear logical arrangement of ideas across paragraphs. The introduction states the thesis, body paragraphs discuss reasons and pros/cons respectively, and a conclusion summarises the points. Paragraphing is used appropriately. Cohesive devices are present, such as "Firstly," "Additionally," "Furthermore," and "In conclusion." However, referencing is occasionally awkward, and the concluding sentence contains a broken cohesive link ("depending on an intergenerational living financial circumstances") that disrupts the flow. Despite these minor lapses, the text is easy to follow, justifying a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to incorporate less common items such as "financial security," "long-term stability," "independence," and "housing costs." However, there are notable collocation errors and awkward phrasing throughout, such as "home ownership is with financial security" (missing a verb/preposition) and "for my prespective" (misspelling and unnatural phrasing). There is also a repetition of terms like "owning a home" and "advantages." These lexical inaccuracies and limitations place the response at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures ("If property prices increase...", "In places where home ownership is strongly valued..."). There are several grammatical errors and awkward expressions, notably "home ownership is with financial security" and the final confusing sentence ending with "intergenerational living financial circumstances." Punctuation also has minor flaws, such as a missing space before a comma and a stray capital letter ("-However,"). Nevertheless, the errors rarely impede overall communication, supporting a Band 6.0.

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