Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-04

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, it is often considered that ownership of a house is very important for individuals rather than renting. This might be important because people believe that owning a home is a part of investment that could be beneficial for the them in the future, while living on rent does not provide secure future. I largely believe that this is a positive situation because people could feel relaxed in their personal home without worrying about monthly rent expenses.

To begin with, it is important for people to have personal home rather than living on rent because those people who live in big countries or cities have to pay high rents, which are very difficult to manage. Additionally, the maintainance of rented apartments and houses is very expensive, due to this people have to keep a certain amount from their monthly income other then giving rents. For this reason, it is considered that owning a home is crucial for the individuals because it is a one time investment, which could be beneficial in the future. Moreover, people do not have to worry about the rent expenditures, instead they can spend that amount on their families and designing their own homes. For example, someone owns a house, they feel more relaxed and comfortable in their personal spaces without worrying about rent expenses.

On the other hand, I believe it is a postive situation because owning a home could give individuals a sense of stability and personal development. This is because people who are living in rented apartments have to look after everything and even they have to pay extra for the compulsory maintainance amount, which is very difficult these days for people to manage everything by their own. In contrast, those who have a permanent space to live, they can live in peace and more relaxed without thinking about changing house after every year. This is also important because the ownership of the house can provide a secure future.

In conclusion, it is very important for people to own a home because this could provide a safe future and tension free life, in contrast to living in rented house. I believe this is a positive situation because people could feel more relaxed in their personal space without worrying about the rents and other maintainance amounts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, examining both why homeownership is important and whether this trend is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the reasons behind valuing homeownership, such as long-term investment and avoiding monthly rent, are introduced, some points lack full extension or become repetitive. For instance, the discussion on maintenance costs is touched upon in both the second and third paragraphs without introducing significant new perspectives. To reach a higher level, every main idea needs more thorough explanation with specific supporting details, and the stance could be maintained with greater precision throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, particularly in how transitional phrases are employed. Cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are present, but referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun shifts in sentences like 'For example, someone owns a house, they feel...'. Improving the fluidity of transitions and ensuring precise referencing would elevate the cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'investment', 'expenditures', 'stability', and 'compulsory maintenance'. However, there are notable word choice, collocation, and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'maintainance' instead of maintenance, 'postive' instead of positive, and awkward phrases like 'giving rents' instead of paying rent. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they restrict the lexical score. To progress, the writer needs to refine word forms and collocations while expanding the use of precise, natural academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordinate clauses and relative structures. However, there are some grammar and punctuation errors present throughout the text, including articles, prepositions, and agreement issues, such as 'for the them', 'personal home' instead of a personal home, and 'by their own' instead of on their own. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear. To achieve a higher score, the writer must exercise greater control over complex sentence patterns and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips.

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