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 many 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 (financial security, social status, and stability) and discussing both advantages and disadvantages, thereby establishing a clear position. However, there is a notable negative impact due to the word count: the length check confirms the response is 247 words, falling slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement. This minor infraction prevents the task from being fully realised at Band 7. Ideas are generally relevant and extended, such as the discussion on debt and rising house prices, but the minor under-length penalty combined with some slight under-development in the conclusion places this solidly at a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct sections for reasons, advantages, disadvantages, and the final summary. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Additionally', 'However', and 'Furthermore' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although some referencing and transitional phrasing feel slightly mechanical, such as the abrupt transition in the final sentence 'depending on an intergenerational living financial circumstances' which disrupts the logical flow. Overall, the organizational structure is clear and satisfies the criteria for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7, but minor cohesion faults at the sentence level keep it at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'financial security', 'long-term investment', and 'independence'. There are, however, noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations. For instance, the phrase 'home ownership is with financial security' omits a necessary verb or preposition (likely 'associated with'), and 'for my prespective' contains a spelling error ('perspective'). The final sentence also suffers from a confusing lexical clash ('intergenerational living financial circumstances'). While the vocabulary is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, these recurring errors and the lack of flexible less-common phrasing limit the score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'If property prices increase, homeowners may benefit financially'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, such as missing spaces after periods (e.g., 'advantages.For', 'costs .However', 'disadvantages as well.in'), incorrect prepositional use ('largely for security' instead of 'largely about security'), and awkward syntax in the conclusion. Despite these errors, communication is rarely impeded, and the majority of simple sentences are constructed correctly. This balance of mixed structures and frequent minor errors aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

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